Analysis of the satellite altimetry based predicted bathymetry, magnetic anomalies, and earthquake seismic data relating to the geophysical structure on the Nazca plate indicates that the Galapagos Rise system served as the transitional spreading system between Pacific-Farallon spreading and the current East Pacific Rise (EPR) system. First order age/depth relationships for this area indicate that the Galapagos Rise, the most prominent extinct spreading system within the Nazca plate, accommodated most of the Pacific-Nazca plate separation from ~23 million years ago (Ma) to ~8 Ma. After this time, spreading was dominantly along the EPR, with probable ultra slow spreading along the Galapagos Rise continuing until very recent times (0-5 Ma). Magnetic lineations and depth trends across the Bauer Basin suggest that it was captured between the failing Galapagos Rise and the currently active EPR. Anomalously shallow ridge crests along the Galapagos Rise indicate that magmatic activity may have occurred until very recent time (0-5 Ma). Tightly curved (concave southward) fracture zones offsetting Galapagos Rise ridge segments indicate a pole of rotation at the present day position of ~22.5 S and ~99.5 W. The curvature of the fracture zones and the fan-shaped spreading pattern of seafloor structures produced at the Galapagos Rise indicate that the Galapagos Rise initiated parallel to the Mendaña fracture zone. Consistent with the rotation of the Nazca plate after the fragmentation of the Farallon plate, the Galapagos Rise rotated counterclockwise during its active phase. The Galapagos Rise initiated in the vicinity of Gallego fracture zones and propagated southward. Failure of the Galapagos Rise occurred as spreading jumped westward in stages to the East Pacific Rise.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-141).

Thesis (Sc. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1983. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 229-244).

Of fundamental concern in volcanic hazard and risk assessment studies of volcanic systems is what role crustal structures might play in the ascent of magma through the crust. What are the processes that govern the spatial distribution and timing of eruptions, especially in populated areas or near sensitive facilities? Many studies have drawn the conclusion that faults play a critical role as easily–exploitable crustal weaknesses along which magma can ascend. Great care must be used when assuming a causative relationship between patterns of vents and faults especially when such relationships may be incorporated into hazard assessment models or other forecasting tools. This thesis presents a quantitative analysis of vent and fault populations in seven actively–faulted volcanic fields to test whether or not spatial relationships exist between faults and volcanic features. The data generated in this study include map distances acquired by measuring existing geologic maps produced by other scientists. Statistical methods were adapted from a similar study by Paterson and Schmidt (1999) which involved the analysis of pluton–to–fault distances. The data show that statistical spatial correlations exist between vents and faults in only two of the seven volcanic fields in this study. As a general observation, most vents cluster far from faults in these populations, which could be explained by a variety of natural phenomenon such as suppression of faulting from increased magmatism and magma source geometry differences. Although data some of the data show a spatial correlation, it does not necessarily imply a genetic relationship.

Extensive studies have been undertaking in exploring the tectonic evolution of the Himalayan Orogen. Various tectonic models were developed to explain and constraint spatially and temporally critical events including the collision of Indian Plate with the Eurasia Plate, crustal thickening in association with the indentation, crustal spreading of the Tibetan Plateau. Recent study by King et al., 2011 identified two distinct leucogranite suites which were formed by contrasting tectonic actions at Sakya. They are Equigranular Anastomosing Leucogranite (AEG) formed under prograde fluidpresent condition while the Discrete Porphyritic Pluton Leucogranite (DPP) formed with retro-grade fluid-absent environment. Based on the characteristics of AEG and DPP, this study started with the acquisition of geochemistry data of rock samples collected for researches at various locations of the Himalaya Orogen. The two leucogranite suites were characterized through the study of their geochemistry comprised major elements, trace elements and rare earth elements models. Results of the studies concluded the existence of AEGs and DPPs distributed over the eastern area of the Himalaya Orogen beyond longitude 85 degree East. DPPs are also found at the far West location of the orogen. AEGs are typically formed from around 38Ma to 23Ma, while DPPs are of young age from 23Ma to 15Ma. Based on the observation of missing, or paucity in data for AEG and DPPs available to the west of longitude 85 degree East, it is hypothesized that recent collision of the Arabia plate to the Iran Domain inhibited the northward indentation movement of the Indian plate that not only caused the anticlockwise rotation of the Indian plate but also decreased the rate of tectonic movement of the Indian plate in the West relative to Eurasia plate. The slow rate of tectonic movement may result in insufficient thickening/energy developed within the crustal layer to cause any melting. Further studies to examine and development of the hypothesis is recommended. / published_or_final_version / Applied Geosciences / Master / Master of Science

The North Coast Marine Area (NCMA) extends across ~7000 km2 of the northern Trinidad and Tobago shelf in water depths between 50 to 200 meters. In 2009 the NCMA had two exploration blocks under active oil and gas exploration with gas production from the NCMA totaling ~ 1.1 tcf since 2002. All natural gas discovered to date in the NCMA has been interpreted as biogenic although one previous worker has speculated that a minor component of thermogenic gas is also present. The NCMA is located within a complex tectonic environment characterized by oblique strike-slip displacements between the Caribbean and South American plates at a rate of about 20 mm/yr. The main faults of the 200-km-wide plate boundary zone include: 1) the El Pilar right-lateral strike-slip fault zone to the south on the island of Trinidad and the Gulf of Paria which GPS results indicate to be largely inactive; 2) the North Coast fault zone (NCFZ) which coincides with the southern boundary of the Tobago basement terrane and appears to be slightly active with down-to-the-north, Miocene to recent oblique-slip movements on the NCFZ producing accommodation space for deposition of sediments along the northern shelf of Trinidad and Tobago; and 3) the Hinge Line fault zone (HLFZ) crossing through the NCMA and forming the focus of Chapter 2 of this thesis. The ~120 km long Hinge Line fault zone has an average east-northeast strike approximately parallel to the GPS-derived plate motion direction (080°), and is a subvertical, thick-skinned right-lateral strike-slip fault. Localized zones of transpression and transtension form locally where the trace of the fault deviates from the 080° direction of pure, right-lateral shear and these localized areas of complex faulting and folding provide important structural traps for Pliocene and Miocene gas reservoirs in the NCMA north of the HLFZ. Growth sequences along the HLFZ indicate that the fault activated in Miocene time and continues to up to the late Pleistocene (~500 k.y.) and in some areas forms active scarps on the seafloor. Structural maps and isochron maps were made for four horizons underlying the northern shelf of Trinidad including top Mesozoic basement, top Miocene, top Pliocene and seafloor. These maps support a change in terrigenous source area for the northern shelf of Trinidad: during the Miocene and early Pliocene, terrigenous sources were coming from the southeast through the Atlantic Ocean; during the mid-Pliocene to present the source area changed to the southeast through the Gulf of Paria. The shallow seismic stratigraphic study of Chapter 3 analysed two Pleistocene fourth-order shelf and shelf-edge stratigraphic sequences deposited over the past ~500 k.y in the western part of the NCMA. New micropaleontologic data tied to a well through the two sequences B and C constrain the initial deposition of each sequence ~450 k.y (Sequence B) and ~260 k.y. (Sequence C). The lithologic well log shows that the sequences are sand, shale, and thin limestone. Seismic interpretation allows division of sequences B and C into eight system tracts which include: 1) lowstand system tracts, 2) transgressive system tracts, 3) highstand system tracts and 4) falling stage system tracts. Two lowstand systems tracts in sequences B and C are characterized by delta plain deposition of the Orinoco Delta with a north-eastward terrigenous source direction coming from the western side of Trinidad, through the Gulf of Paria. The falling stage systems tract of sequence C consists of a suite of ~20 – 45-m-high, 0.1° – 0.25°-inclined, and north-eastward-prograding muddy, shelf deltaic clinoforms marking the paleo-shelf edge. Fault controls penetrate into Sequence B and may have produced accommodation space but do not penetrate into overlying Sequence C which therefore must have been eustatically controlled. These Pleistocene sequences may provide a more recent analog for Miocene and Pliocene age sequences and reservoirs that form the highly productive horizons of the NCMA gas field. / text

This dissertation explores the uses for data collected at broadband seismic stations to investigate upper mantle structures. In the Barents Sea region, we use seismic waveform modeling on data collected from arrays in Norway and Finland to investigate the nature of the Hales discontinuity in this area. We find that the unusually high velocities required by the move-out of the diffracted first arrival requires a discontinuity below the Moho, which we believe is probably caused by a phase transition from spinel to garnet peridotite. In Chile and Argentina, we use data collected during the Chile Argentina Geophysical Experiment to perform a regional travel time tomography in order to investigate the nature of the mantle above this unusual subduction zone. The northern half of the study area (between 30° and 33°S) is characterized by the central Chilean flat slab segment, where the descending Nazca slab dives to 100 km depth and then flattens, traveling horizontally for hundreds of kilometers before resuming its descent into the mantle. The Nazca plate in the southern half of the study area has a relatively constant dip of about 30°. The southern half exhibits normal arc volcanism roughly above the 100 - 125 km contours of the downgoing slab. The northern half has had no active volcanism in the past 2 Ma, and underwent an eastward displacement of arc volcanism beginning ~10 Ma. The northern half is also remarkable for the basement-cored uplifts of the Sierras Pampeanas. Our study of the upper mantle above the southern half indicates low P wave velocities, low S wave velocities, and high Vp/Vs ratios below the arc, consistent with partial melt. Above the flat slab segment we find low Vp, high Vs, and low Vp/Vs ratios. While the nature of the material responsible for these velocities cannot be uniquely determined, the velocities indicate it must be dry, cold, and depleted. In the transition from flat to normal subduction geometries, we find velocities consistent with frozen asthenosphere, which may have been displaced by the advancing flat slab during the Miocene.

Intra-continental mountain belts typically form as a result of tectonic forces associated with distant plate collisions. In general, each mountain belt has a distinctive morphology and orogenic evolution that is highly dependent on the unique distribution and geometries of inherited structures and other crustal weaknesses. In this thesis, I have investigated the complex and irregular Cenozoic orogenic evolution of the Central Kyrgyz Tien Shan in Central Asia, which is presently one of the most active intra-continental mountain belts in the world. This work involved combining a broad array of datasets, including thermochronologic, magnetostratigraphic, sediment provenance and stable isotope data, to identify and date various changes in tectonic deformation, climate and surface processes. Many of these changes are linked and can ultimately be related to regional-scale processes that altered the orogenic evolution of the Central Kyrgyz Tien Shan. The Central Kyrgyz Tien Shan contains a sub-parallel series of structures that were reactivated in the late Cenozoic in response to the tectonic forces associated with the distant India-Eurasia collision. Over time, slip on the various reactivated structures created the succession of mountain ranges and intermontane basins which characterises the modern morphology of the region. In this thesis, new quantitative constraints on the exhumation histories of several mountain ranges have been obtained by using low temperature thermochronological data from 95 samples (zircon (U-Th)/He, apatite fission track and (U-Th)/He). Time-temperature histories derived by modelling the thermochronologic data of individual samples identify at least two stages of Cenozoic cooling in most of the region’s mountain ranges: (1) initially low cooling rates (<1°C/Myr) during the tectonic quiescent period and (2) increased cooling in the late Cenozoic, which occurred diachronously and with variable magnitude in different ranges. This second cooling stage is interpreted to represent increased erosion caused by active deformation, and in many of the sampled mountain ranges, provides the first available constraints on the timing of late Cenozoic deformation. New constraints on the timing of deformation have also been derived from the sedimentary record of intermontane basins. In the intermontane Issyk Kul basin, new magnetostratigraphic data from two sedimentary sections suggests that deposition of the first Cenozoic syn-tectonic sediments commenced at ~26 Ma. Zircon U-Pb provenance data, paleocurrent and conglomerate clast analysis reveals that these sediments were sourced from the Terskey Range to the south of the basin, suggesting that the onset of the late Cenozoic deformation occurred >26 Ma in that particular range. Elsewhere, growth strata relationships are used to identify syn-tecotnic deposition and constrain the timing of nearby deformation. Collectively, these new constraints obtained from thermochronologic and sedimentary data have allowed me to infer the spatiotemporal distribution of deformation in a transect through the Central Kyrgyz Tien Shan, and determine the order in which mountain ranges started deforming. These data suggest that deformation began in a few widely-spaced mountain ranges in the late Oligocene and early Miocene. Typically, these earlier mountain ranges are bounded on at least one side by a reactivated structure, which probably corresponds to the frictionally weakest and most suitably orientated inherited structures for accommodating the roughly north-south directed horizontal crustal shortening of the late Cenozoic. Moreover, tectonically-induced rock uplift in the Terskey Range, following the reactivation of the bounding structure before 26 Ma, likely caused significant surface uplift across the range, which in turn lead to enhanced orographic precipitation. These wetter conditions have been inferred from stable isotope data collected in the two magnetostratigraphically-dated sections in the Issyk Kul basin. Subsequently, in the late Miocene (~12‒5 Ma), more mountain ranges and inherited structures appear to have started actively deforming. Importantly, the onset of deformation at these locations in the late Miocene coincides with an increase in exhumation of ranges that had started deforming earlier in the late Oligocene‒early Miocene. Based on this observation, I have suggested that there must have been an overall increase in the rate of horizontal crustal shortening across the Central Kyrgyz Tien Shan, which likely relates to regional tectonic changes that affected much of Central Asia. Many of the mountain ranges that started deforming in the late Miocene were associated with out-of-sequence tectonic reactivation and initiation, which lead to the partitioning of larger intermontane basins. Moreover, within most of the intermontane basins in the Central Kyrgyz Tien Shan, this inferred late Miocene increase in horizontal crustal shortening occurs roughly at the same time as an increase in sedimentation rates and a significant change sediment composition. Therefore, I have suggested that the overall magnitude of deformational processes increased in the late Miocene, promoting more flexural subsidence in the intermontane basins of the Central Kyrgyz Tien Shan. / Intrakontinentale Gebirge sind typischerweise das Ergebnis tektonischer Kräfte, die auf entfernte Plattenkollisionen beruhen. Im Allgemeinen hat jedes Gebirge sein charakteristisches morphologisches Erscheinungsbild und seine eigene und einzigartige Entstehungsgeschichte, die zum Großteil von der Verteilung und der Geometrie vorgeprägter Strukturen und anderer Schwächzonen innerhalb der Erdkruste abhängt. In der vorliegenden Arbeit habe ich die komplexe känozoische Gebirgsbildung des zentral-kirgisischen Tian Shan Gebirges, eines der weltweit aktivsten intrakontinentalen Gebirge, untersucht. Diese Arbeit kombiniert verschiedenste Datensätze, darunter thermochronologische und magnetostratigraphische Daten, Sedimentprovenienzen und stabile Isotopenzusammensetzungen, um Änderungen der tektonischen Deformationsprozesse sowie Klima- und Oberflächenveränderungen zu erkennen und gegebenenfalls zu datieren. Viele dieser Veränderungen sind eng miteinander verknüpft und können letztendlich auf regionale Prozesse zurückgeführt werden, die die Entwicklung des zentral-kirgisischen Tian Shan beeinflussen. Das Tian Shan Gebirge besteht aus einer subparallelen Folge einzelner Gebirgsrücken und deren Strukturen, welche im späten Känozoikum als Reaktion auf die entfernt stattfindende Indo-Eurasische Kollision reaktiviert wurden. Im Laufe der Zeit haben Deformation und Versatz entlang dieser reaktivierten Strukturen eine Abfolge von individuellen Gebirgszügen und dazwischen liegenden Sedimentbecken geschaffen deren Morphologie prägend für die heutige Region ist. In dieser Arbeit wurden neue quantitative Altersbestimmungen zur Exhumationsgeschichte mehrerer Gebirgszüge durch thermochronologische Auswertungen an 95 Gesteinsproben durchgeführt (ZHe, AFT und AHe). Die aus Modellierungen einzelner thermochronologischer Datensätze gewonnenen Temperaturgeschichten lassen für die meisten untersuchten Gebirgszüge mindestens zwei Abschnitte känozoischer Abkühlung erkennen: (1) anfänglich niedrige Abkühlungsraten (<1°C/Myr) während einer tektonische Ruhephase und (2) stärkere Abkühlung im späten Känozoikum, die in den verschiedenen Gebirgsketten diachron und mit unterschiedlicher Intensität einsetzt. Diese zweite Abkühlungsphase kann durch einen Anstieg der Erosionsraten durch aktive Deformation interpretiert werden und stellt für viele der untersuchten Gebirgszüge die erste verfügbare Alterabschätzung spätkänozoischer Deformation dar. Neue Deformationsalter wurden weiterhin aus den Sedimenten intermontaner Becken gewonnen. Im intermontanen Issyk Kul Becken lassen neue magnetostratigraphische Daten zweier Sedimentabschnitte vermuten, dass die Ablagerung der ersten syntektonischen Sedimente im Känozoikum um ca. 26 Ma begann. Weiterhin zeigen Zirkon-Provenienzen, Paläoströmungsrichtungen sowie Klastenanalysen konglomeratischer Sedimente, dass diese Sedimente aus der Terskey Range südlich des Beckens stammen, was vermuten lässt, dass der Beginn der spätkänozoischen Deformation in diesem Teil des Gebirgszuges älter als 26 Ma ist. In anderen Bereichen wurden sedimentäre Wachstumsstrukturen zur Identifikation syntektonischer Ablagerung herangezogen, um somit den Zeitpunkt nahe gelegener Deformation zu bestimmen. Zusammengenommen haben meine Beobachtungen und Auswertungen ermöglicht, die räumlichen und zeitlichen Deformationsmuster quer durch das zentral-kirgisischen Tian Shan Gebirge zu erschließen um eine zeitliche Abfolge in der Entstehung und Entwicklung einzelner Gebirgszüge zu entwickeln. Meine Daten lassen vermuten, dass die Deformation in einigen wenigen, weit auseinander liegenden Bergketten im Spätoligozän bis Frühmiozän begann. Typischerweise sind diese frühen Gebirgsketten auf mindestens einer Seite an eine reaktivierte Struktur gebunden. Diese sind die wahrscheinlich schwächsten oder am besten orientierten Strukturen, um die annähernd Nord-Süd gerichtete Einengung im späten Känozoikum aufzunehmen. Darüber hinaus ist es sehr wahrscheinlich, dass die tektonische Gesteinshebung innerhalb der Terskey Range, entlang reaktivierter Störungen vor 26 Ma, eine signifikante Topographiezunahme zur Folge hatte. Dies führte höchstwahrscheinlich zur Ausbildung einer orographischen Barriere und der damit verbundenen Verstärkung der Regenfälle im Becken nördlich des Rückens. Diese Bedingungen konnten mithilfe stabiler Isotopenzusammensetzungen entlang der zwei magnetostratigraphisch datierten Sedimentprofile im Issyk Kul Becken nachgewiesen werden. Während des späten Miozäns (~12‒5 Ma) begann zeitnah die aktive Deformation und Heraushebung mehrerer neuer Gebirgsrücken. Wichtig dabei erscheint, dass der Zeitpunkt dieser spätmiozänen Deformation mit einem Exhumationsschub derer Gebirgszüge zusammenfällt, die schon viel früher (Spätoligozän bis Frühmiozän) mit der Deformation begannen. Aufgrund dieser Beobachtungen habe ich vorgeschlagen, dass es einen generellen Anstieg der Einengungsraten im Tian Shan gegeben haben muss, welcher auf regionale tektonische Veränderungen zurückzuführen ist die große Teile Zentralasiens betrafen. Viele der Gebirgsrücken, die initial im späten Miozän herausgehoben wurden, sind durch unsystematische, tektonische Prozesse der Reaktivierung und Initialisierung von Strukturen (out-of-sequence) entstanden, die zur Teilung vormals großer, zusammenhängender Sedimentbecken führte. Darüber hinaus weisen die meisten intermontanen Becken im zentral-kirgisischen Tian Shan, in etwa zur Zeit der beobachteten, verstärkten Einengung im Spätmiozän, ebenfalls erhöhte Sedimentationsraten und eine signifikante Änderung der Sedimentzusammensetzung. Daher vermute ich, dass die allgemeine Intensität der Deformation im Spätmiozän zunahm, was eine tektonische Absenkung (flexural subsidence) in den intermontane Becken des zentral-kirgisischen Tian Shan Gebirges zur Folge hatte.

By studying volcanoes on Venus, Mark Jellinek is advancing the science of predicting volcanic activity on earth.

Most researchers contend that the destruction of the Rheic Ocean culminated in the formation of the supercontinent Pangea. However, despite the importance of this ocean, there are major uncertainties in the identification of its margins, mechanisms and timing of its formation, and the geodynamics of its closure. Rocks recording the evolution of the Rheic are excellently preserved in the southern Iberian peninsula of Western Europe. Here, the Ossa Morena (OMZ) is separated from the South Portuguese (SPZ) zone by a sequence of polydeformed rocks know as the Pulo do lobo Zone (PDLZ). The PDLZ isinterpreted as a late Paleozoic accretionary prism, which contains potential vestiges of the ancient Rheic Ocean (ophiolites). The objective of this study is to better understand the processes associated with the formation of Pangea by determining the lithotectonic histories of both the PDLZ and SPZ. New field, geochronological and geochemical data are used to test and further constrain current models for the evolution of Pangea as recorded in the Variscan orogen. Fieldwork and geochronological data indicate that the PDLZ was derived from neither the OMZ (Gondwana) nor the SPZ suggesting that if the PDLZ is an accretionary prism it was not derived from the upper or lower plate. This apparent conundrum can be reconciled by a model involving excision of a crustal fragment during collision between an Iberian indenter (Gondwana) with Laurussia during the formation of Pangea. Geochronological and Geochemical data from the SPZ indicate that the lower crust isnot compositionally similar to the overlying Devonian-Carboniferous continental detritus. This unusual relationship is similar to the relationship between the relatively juvenile basement and ancient upper crust documented in the exposed portion of the Meguma terrane in the northern Appalachians, which paleogeographic reconstructions show was immediately outboard of southern Iberia in the Late Devonian. Taken together with the suggested complex tectonic history of the PDLZ the results of this thesis provide important insight into the geometry and timing of the formation of Pangea and indicate that re-interpretation may be required for what is known concerning the tectonic evolution of both the Variscan and Appalachian orogens.