Strike-slip tectonics during rift linkage
Strike-slip tectonics during rift linkage
The kinematics of rift segment linkage in magmatic rifts remain debated. Strain patterns from Afar provide tests of current models of how segmented rifts grow in areas of incipient oceanic spreading. Here, we present a combined analysis of seismicity, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), and GPS–derived strain rate maps to reveal that the plate-boundary linkage between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden rifts of Afar is accommodated primarily by distributed extensional faulting. Large rotations about vertical axes predicted by bookshelf faulting models are not detected. Additionally, models of stress changes and seismicity induced by recent dikes provide poor fits to the observed time-space patterns of strike-slip earthquakes. Instead, we explain these features as resulting from rift-perpendicular shearing at the tips of spreading rifts where extension terminates against less stretched lithosphere. Our results demonstrate that distributed extension drives rift-perpendicular shearing, achieving plate-boundary linkage during incipient seafloor spreading.
31-34
Pagli, Carolina
290edb22-712b-4563-a868-af4c21fdb6b0
Yun, Sang-Ho
77fc8501-65e5-4d69-83a0-58b370fea1e4
Ebinger, Cynthia
9aab3b18-294f-4cda-b64d-375b1cae85bb
Keir, Derek
5616f81f-bf1b-4678-a167-3160b5647c65
Wang, Hua
d2464222-af0f-49da-a6bb-8770dc1f0b11
1 January 2019
Pagli, Carolina
290edb22-712b-4563-a868-af4c21fdb6b0
Yun, Sang-Ho
77fc8501-65e5-4d69-83a0-58b370fea1e4
Ebinger, Cynthia
9aab3b18-294f-4cda-b64d-375b1cae85bb
Keir, Derek
5616f81f-bf1b-4678-a167-3160b5647c65
Wang, Hua
d2464222-af0f-49da-a6bb-8770dc1f0b11
Pagli, Carolina, Yun, Sang-Ho, Ebinger, Cynthia, Keir, Derek and Wang, Hua
(2019)
Strike-slip tectonics during rift linkage.
Geology, 47, .
(doi:10.1130/G45345.1).
Abstract
The kinematics of rift segment linkage in magmatic rifts remain debated. Strain patterns from Afar provide tests of current models of how segmented rifts grow in areas of incipient oceanic spreading. Here, we present a combined analysis of seismicity, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), and GPS–derived strain rate maps to reveal that the plate-boundary linkage between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden rifts of Afar is accommodated primarily by distributed extensional faulting. Large rotations about vertical axes predicted by bookshelf faulting models are not detected. Additionally, models of stress changes and seismicity induced by recent dikes provide poor fits to the observed time-space patterns of strike-slip earthquakes. Instead, we explain these features as resulting from rift-perpendicular shearing at the tips of spreading rifts where extension terminates against less stretched lithosphere. Our results demonstrate that distributed extension drives rift-perpendicular shearing, achieving plate-boundary linkage during incipient seafloor spreading.
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Accepted/In Press date: 28 October 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 30 November 2018
Published date: 1 January 2019
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 427556
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/427556
ISSN: 0091-7613
PURE UUID: 3a512dcd-f7d0-4e69-aa5a-901a2372c767
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Date deposited: 23 Jan 2019 17:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 07:31
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Author:
Carolina Pagli
Author:
Sang-Ho Yun
Author:
Cynthia Ebinger
Author:
Hua Wang
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