Widespread compression associated with Eocene Tonga-Kermadec subduction initiation

Sutherland, Rupert; Collot, Julien; Bache, François; Henrys, S. A.; Barker, D. H. N.; Browne, G. H.; Lawrence, M.J.F.; Morgans, Hugh E. G.; Hollis, Christopher J.; Clowes, Christopher D.; Mortimer, Nick; Rouillard, Pierrick; Gurnis, Michael; Étienne, Samuel; Stratford, W.

doi:10.1130/g38617.1

Cited by 80 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

100

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Global plate tectonic reconstructions reveal abrupt, widespread changes in plate motion and boundary configurations, notably at ∼50 and ∼100 Myr ago (Matthews et al, 2012;Whittaker et al, 2007), which have variably been attributed to ridge subduction, plume-push forces, and continent-continent collision. Current hypotheses suggest a role for both local lithospheric buoyancy variations and plate-scale compressional forces (Arculus et al, 2015;Sutherland et al, 2017), yet the ultimate trigger for these new plate boundaries to form by either mechanism remains unclear. Current hypotheses suggest a role for both local lithospheric buoyancy variations and plate-scale compressional forces (Arculus et al, 2015;Sutherland et al, 2017), yet the ultimate trigger for these new plate boundaries to form by either mechanism remains unclear.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breakup Without Borders: How Continents Speed Up and Slow Down During Rifting

Ulvrová

Brune

Williams

2019

Geophysical Research Letters

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Relative plate motions during continental rifting result from the interplay of local with far‐field forces. Here we study the dynamics of rifting and breakup using large‐scale numerical simulations of mantle convection with self‐consistent evolution of plate boundaries. We show that continental separation follows a characteristic evolution with four distinctive phases: (1) an initial slow rifting phase with low divergence velocities and maximum tensional stresses, (2) a synrift speed‐up phase featuring an abrupt increase of extension rate with a simultaneous drop of tensional stress, (3) the breakup phase with inception of fast sea‐floor spreading, and (4) a deceleration phase occurring in most but not all models where extensional velocities decrease. We find that the speed‐up during rifting is compensated by subduction acceleration or subduction initiation even in distant localities. Our study illustrates new links between local rift dynamics, plate motions, and subduction kinematics during times of continental separation.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breakup Without Borders: How Continents Speed Up and Slow Down During Rifting

Ulvrová

Brune

Williams

2019

Geophysical Research Letters

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The distal basin, the Tasman Abyssal Plain, shows signs of local convergent deformation (Sutherland et al, 2017). The force transmitted through the tectonic plate must have been large enough to stop seafloor spreading and cause failure of the lithosphere.…”

Section: Drilling Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The proximal ridge includes New Caledonia, Norfolk Ridge, Reinga Basin, and northwest New Zealand ( Figures F2, F3, F4). The proximal region is deformed and presumably was involved in the initial phase of surface convergence (Sutherland et al, 2017). Knowledge from New Caledonia, IODP Sites U1507 and U1508, and New Zealand produce a proximal boundary-parallel transect that progressively samples initial rates of predicted convergence (Bache et al, 2012).…”

Section: Drilling Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…IODP Sites U1508, U1509, U1510, and U1511 (proposed Sites REIS-2A, NCTS-2A, LHRS-3A, and TASS-2A, respectively), combined with knowledge from New Zealand and Australia, provide a southern transect ( Figure F4) that has clear signs of an extended period of plate failure (Sutherland et al, 2017).…”

Section: Drilling Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Legs 181 and 189 further investigated the Eocene-Oligocene opening of the southern Tasman Sea gateway (Carter et al, 2004;Exon et al, 2004b). However, the significance of unconformities in the Tasman Sea has not, so far, included consideration of regional vertical tectonics or local faulting (Sutherland et al, 2010(Sutherland et al, , 2017. Records from the Tasman Sea may also offer insights into understanding Neogene paleoceanography across the Pacific and phenomena such as the late Miocene-early Pliocene biogenic bloom (Farrell et al, 1995;Grant and Dickens, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Untitled

Sutherland¹,

Dickens²,

Blum³

et al. 2018

International Ocean Discovery Program Preliminary Report

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 371 drilled six sites in the Tasman Sea of the southwest Pacific between 27 July and 26 September 2017. The primary goal was to understand Tonga-Kermadec subduction initiation through recovery of Paleogene sediment records. Secondary goals involved understanding regional oceanography and climate since the Paleogene. Six sites were drilled, recovering 2506 m of cored sediment and volcanic rock in 36.4 days of on-site drilling during a total expedition length of 58 days. Wireline logs were collected at two sites. Shipboard observations made using cores and logs represent a substantial gain in fundamental knowledge about northern Zealandia, because only Deep Sea Drilling Project Sites 206, 207, and 208 had penetrated beneath upper Eocene strata within the region.The cored intervals at five sites (U1506-U1510) sampled nannofossil and foraminiferal ooze or chalk that contained volcanic or volcaniclastic intervals with variable clay content. Paleocene and Cretaceous sections range from more clay rich to predominantly claystone. At the final site (U1511), a sequence of abyssal clay and diatomite was recovered with only minor amounts of carbonate. The ages of strata at the base of each site were middle Eocene to Late Cretaceous, and our new results provide the first firm basis for defining formal lithostratigraphic units that can be mapped across a substantial part of northern Zealandia and related to onshore regions of New Caledonia and New Zealand.The material and data recovered during Expedition 371 enable primary scientific goals to be accomplished. All six sites provided new stratigraphic and paleogeographic information that can be put into context through regional seismic-stratigraphic interpretation and hence provide strong constraints on geodynamic models of subduction zone initiation. Our new observations can be directly related to the timing of plate deformation, the magnitude and timing of vertical motions, and the timing and type of volcanism. Secondary paleoclimate objectives were not all completed as planned, but significant new records of southwest Pacific climate were obtained.

show abstract

Deepwater Fold‐and‐Thrust Belt Along New Caledonia's Western Margin: Relation to Post‐obduction Vertical Motions

Collot¹,

Patriat

Étienne

et al. 2017

Tectonics

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Classically, deepwater fold‐and‐thrust belts are classified in two main types, depending if they result from near‐ or far‐field stresses and the understanding of their driving and triggering mechanism is poorly known. We present a geophysical data set off the western margin of New Caledonia (SW Pacific) that reveals deformed structures of a deepwater fold‐and‐thrust belt that we interpret as a near‐field gravity‐driven system, which is not located at a rifted passive margin. The main factor triggering deformation is inferred to be oversteepening of the margin slope by postobduction isostatic rebound. Onshore erosion of abnormally dense obducted material, combined with sediment loading in the adjacent basin, has induced vertical motions that have caused oversteepening of the margin. Detailed morphobathymetric, seismic stratigraphic, and structural analysis reveals that the fold‐and‐thrust belt extends 200 km along the margin, and 50 km into the New Caledonia Trough. Deformation is rooted at depths greater than 5 km beneath the seafloor, affects an area of 3,500 km2, and involves a sediment volume of approximately 13,000 km3. This deformed belt is organized into an imbricate fan system of faults, and one out‐of‐sequence thrust fault affects the seabed. The thrust faults are deeply rooted in the basin along a low‐angle floor thrust and connected to New Caledonia Island along a major detachment. This study not only provides a better knowledge of the New Caledonia margin but also provides new insight into the mechanisms that trigger deepwater fold‐and‐thrust belts.

show abstract

Widespread compression associated with Eocene Tonga-Kermadec subduction initiation

Cited by 80 publications

References 35 publications

Breakup Without Borders: How Continents Speed Up and Slow Down During Rifting

Breakup Without Borders: How Continents Speed Up and Slow Down During Rifting

Untitled

Deepwater Fold‐and‐Thrust Belt Along New Caledonia's Western Margin: Relation to Post‐obduction Vertical Motions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About