The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Motion in the north Iceland volcanic rift zone accommodated by bookshelf faulting

Motion in the north Iceland volcanic rift zone accommodated by bookshelf faulting
Motion in the north Iceland volcanic rift zone accommodated by bookshelf faulting
Along mid-ocean ridges the extending crust is segmented1 on length scales of 10–1,000?km. Where rift segments are offset from one another, motion between segments is accommodated by transform faults that are oriented orthogonally to the main rift axis. Where segments overlap, non-transform offsets with a variety of geometries2 accommodate shear motions. Here we use micro-seismic data to analyse the geometries of faults at two overlapping rift segments exposed on land in north Iceland. Between the rift segments, we identify a series of faults that are aligned sub-parallel to the orientation of the main rift. These faults slip through left-lateral strike-slip motion. Yet, movement between the overlapping rift segments is through right-lateral motion. Together, these motions induce a clockwise rotation of the faults and intervening crustal blocks in a motion that is consistent with a bookshelf-faulting mechanism, named after its resemblance to a tilting row of books on a shelf3. The faults probably reactivated existing crustal weaknesses, such as dyke intrusions, that were originally oriented parallel to the main rift and have since rotated about 15° clockwise. Reactivation of pre-existing, rift-parallel weaknesses contrasts with typical mid-ocean ridge transform faults and is an important illustration of a non-transform offset accommodating shear motion between overlapping rift segments.
1752-0894
29-33
Green, Robert G.
c156717b-eb38-4167-9269-301f919b083d
White, Robert S.
80949343-6d64-42e3-acb2-812307f1b274
Greenfield, Tim
08324ab8-4581-4a8c-a133-f12b23b8a79b
Green, Robert G.
c156717b-eb38-4167-9269-301f919b083d
White, Robert S.
80949343-6d64-42e3-acb2-812307f1b274
Greenfield, Tim
08324ab8-4581-4a8c-a133-f12b23b8a79b

Green, Robert G., White, Robert S. and Greenfield, Tim (2013) Motion in the north Iceland volcanic rift zone accommodated by bookshelf faulting. Nature Geoscience, 7 (1), 29-33. (doi:10.1038/ngeo2012).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Along mid-ocean ridges the extending crust is segmented1 on length scales of 10–1,000?km. Where rift segments are offset from one another, motion between segments is accommodated by transform faults that are oriented orthogonally to the main rift axis. Where segments overlap, non-transform offsets with a variety of geometries2 accommodate shear motions. Here we use micro-seismic data to analyse the geometries of faults at two overlapping rift segments exposed on land in north Iceland. Between the rift segments, we identify a series of faults that are aligned sub-parallel to the orientation of the main rift. These faults slip through left-lateral strike-slip motion. Yet, movement between the overlapping rift segments is through right-lateral motion. Together, these motions induce a clockwise rotation of the faults and intervening crustal blocks in a motion that is consistent with a bookshelf-faulting mechanism, named after its resemblance to a tilting row of books on a shelf3. The faults probably reactivated existing crustal weaknesses, such as dyke intrusions, that were originally oriented parallel to the main rift and have since rotated about 15° clockwise. Reactivation of pre-existing, rift-parallel weaknesses contrasts with typical mid-ocean ridge transform faults and is an important illustration of a non-transform offset accommodating shear motion between overlapping rift segments.

Text
Green, White, Greenfield - 2014 - Motion in the north Iceland volcanic rift zone accommodated by bookshelf faulting.pdf - Version of Record
Restricted to Repository staff only

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 23 October 2013
Published date: 1 December 2013
Organisations: Geology & Geophysics

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 401269
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/401269
ISSN: 1752-0894
PURE UUID: dde4e703-b2e6-45d8-a478-6d9ba7ec360b

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 07 Oct 2016 09:15
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:43

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Robert G. Green
Author: Robert S. White
Author: Tim Greenfield

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×