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From continental hyperextension to seafloor spreading: new insights on the Porcupine Basin from wide-angle seismic data

From continental hyperextension to seafloor spreading: new insights on the Porcupine Basin from wide-angle seismic data
From continental hyperextension to seafloor spreading: new insights on the Porcupine Basin from wide-angle seismic data
The deep structure and sedimentary record of rift basins provide an important insight into understanding the geological processes involved in lithospheric extension. We investigate the crustal structure and large‐scale sedimentary architecture of the southern Porcupine Basin, offshore Ireland along three wide‐angle seismic profiles, supplemented by thirteen selected seismic reflection profiles. The seismic velocity and crustal geometry models obtained by joint refraction and reflection travel‐time inversion clearly image the deep structure of the basin. Our results suggest the presence of three distinct crustal domains along the rifting axis: (a) continental crust becoming progressively hyperextended from north to south through the basin, (b) a transitional zone of uncertain nature and (c) a 7‐8 km thick zone of oceanic crust. The latter is overlain by a ~ 8 km compacted Upper Paleozoic‐Mesozoic succession and ~ 2 km of Cenozoic strata. Due to the lack of clear magnetic anomalies and in the absence of well control, the precise age of interpreted oceanic crust is unknown. However, we can determine an age range of Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous from the regional context. We propose a northward‐propagating rifting process in the Porcupine Basin, resulting in variations in strain along the rift axis.
2169-9313
Chen, C.
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Watremez, L.
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Prada, M.
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Minshull, T.
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Edwards, R.
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O’Reilly, B.
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Reston, T.
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Wagner, G.
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Gaw, V.
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Klaschen, D.
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Shannon, P.
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Chen, C.
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Watremez, L.
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Prada, M.
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Minshull, T.
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Edwards, R.
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O’Reilly, B.
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Reston, T.
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Wagner, G.
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Gaw, V.
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Klaschen, D.
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Shannon, P.
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Chen, C., Watremez, L., Prada, M., Minshull, T., Edwards, R., O’Reilly, B., Reston, T., Wagner, G., Gaw, V., Klaschen, D. and Shannon, P. (2018) From continental hyperextension to seafloor spreading: new insights on the Porcupine Basin from wide-angle seismic data. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. (doi:10.1029/2018JB016375).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The deep structure and sedimentary record of rift basins provide an important insight into understanding the geological processes involved in lithospheric extension. We investigate the crustal structure and large‐scale sedimentary architecture of the southern Porcupine Basin, offshore Ireland along three wide‐angle seismic profiles, supplemented by thirteen selected seismic reflection profiles. The seismic velocity and crustal geometry models obtained by joint refraction and reflection travel‐time inversion clearly image the deep structure of the basin. Our results suggest the presence of three distinct crustal domains along the rifting axis: (a) continental crust becoming progressively hyperextended from north to south through the basin, (b) a transitional zone of uncertain nature and (c) a 7‐8 km thick zone of oceanic crust. The latter is overlain by a ~ 8 km compacted Upper Paleozoic‐Mesozoic succession and ~ 2 km of Cenozoic strata. Due to the lack of clear magnetic anomalies and in the absence of well control, the precise age of interpreted oceanic crust is unknown. However, we can determine an age range of Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous from the regional context. We propose a northward‐propagating rifting process in the Porcupine Basin, resulting in variations in strain along the rift axis.

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Chen et al JGR resub final - Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 12 September 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 15 September 2018

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 423602
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/423602
ISSN: 2169-9313
PURE UUID: 0f770608-61a5-475e-8932-00459648c999
ORCID for T. Minshull: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8202-1379

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Date deposited: 27 Sep 2018 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 07:07

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Contributors

Author: C. Chen
Author: L. Watremez
Author: M. Prada
Author: T. Minshull ORCID iD
Author: R. Edwards
Author: B. O’Reilly
Author: T. Reston
Author: G. Wagner
Author: V. Gaw
Author: D. Klaschen
Author: P. Shannon

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