Benjamin S. Murphy, J. Caine, P. Bedrosian, Jade Crosbie
{"title":"Geoelectric evidence for a wide spatial footprint of active extension in central Colorado","authors":"Benjamin S. Murphy, J. Caine, P. Bedrosian, Jade Crosbie","doi":"10.1130/g51517.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1130/g51517.1","url":null,"abstract":"Three-dimensional magnetotelluric (MT) imaging in central Colorado revealed a set of north-striking high-conductivity tracks at lower-crustal (50−20 km) depths, with conductive finger-like structures rising off these tracks into the middle crust (20−5 km depth). We interpret these features to represent saline aqueous fluids and partial melt that are products of active extensional tectonomagmatism. These conductors are distributed over a wider region than the narrow corridor along which Rio Grande rift structures are traditionally mapped at the surface, and they consequently demarcate regions of the lower crust where accommodation of bulk extensional strain has concentrated conductive phases. Our observations reveal limitations in existing models of Rio Grande rift activity and may reflect unrecognized spatiotemporal variations in rift system evolution globally.","PeriodicalId":503125,"journal":{"name":"Geology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139788674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tidal dissipation morphodynamic feedback triggers loss of microtidal marshes","authors":"S. Zapp, G. Mariotti","doi":"10.1130/g51798.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1130/g51798.1","url":null,"abstract":"Coastal marsh loss is commonly attributed to changes in external forcings, such as an increase in sea-level rise rate or a reduction in sediment supply. Here we show that extensive marsh loss can be caused by internal mechanisms alone, and specifically by autogenic tidal choking. This occurs when the marsh fills in, increasing tidal dissipation by bed friction and eventually decreasing the tidal range in its landward section. The reduced tidal range decreases sediment import on the marsh platform and increases ponding, both of which lead to interior marsh loss even with modest sea-level rise rates. This process is predicted to occur in dissipative microtidal marshes, which are experiencing some of the fastest rates of marsh loss worldwide. Considering this mechanism is essential to understanding the relationship between marsh loss, sea-level rise, and sediment supply and to eventually predicting future marsh evolution.","PeriodicalId":503125,"journal":{"name":"Geology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139849793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Initiation of the Cascade arc","authors":"J. Tepper, Kenneth P. Clark","doi":"10.1130/g51888.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1130/g51888.1","url":null,"abstract":"The Cascade arc (western North America) is the world’s youngest continental arc, and because the down-going Juan de Fuca plate is young, it is also the hottest end member among subduction zones worldwide. We present evidence that the arc initiated <5 m.y. after accretion of the Siletzia oceanic terrane terminated the earlier subduction system and caused the northern portion of the Farallon slab to break off. Cascade magmatism began ca. 46 Ma with a new trench outboard of Siletzia, a reconfiguration commonly attributed to a seaward jump of the subduction zone. However, the presence of young buoyant oceanic lithosphere that would have resisted being forced into the mantle and the very rapid reestablishment of arc magmatism are hard to reconcile with initiation of a new subduction zone by this process. We propose an alternative mechanism in which the arc was reestablished as the intact southern portion of Farallon slab migrated northward from California (United States), converting a transform margin to a convergent one. This model utilizes plate reconstructions, petrology, mantle tomography, and geochronology to explain how subduction was initiated in a setting where the slab was young and hot and why the earliest Cascade magmatism occurred toward the middle rather than an end of the arc.","PeriodicalId":503125,"journal":{"name":"Geology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139853225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Submarine volcanism along shallow ridges did not drive Cryogenian cap carbonate formation","authors":"A. Dutkiewicz, R. D. Müller","doi":"10.1130/g51884.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1130/g51884.1","url":null,"abstract":"The termination of Neoproterozoic “Snowball Earth” glaciations is marked globally by laterally extensive neritic cap carbonates directly overlying glacial diamictites. The formation of these unique deposits on deglaciation calls for anomalously high calcium carbonate saturation. A popular mechanism to account for the source of requisite ocean alkalinity is the shallow-ridge hypothesis, in which initial spreading ridges surrounding fragments of Rodinia, assumed to be dominated by volcanic margins, were formed at sea level. The shallow ridges are inferred to have promoted widespread deposition and alteration of glassy hyaloclastite—a source of alkalinity. We test this hypothesis by quantifying the prevalence of shallow ridges along Pangea’s passive continental margins, and by assessing Neoproterozoic reconstructions of continents. We find that the most frequently occurring depth range for incipient mid-ocean ridges is 2.1 ± 0.4 km. Ridges with initial elevations of approximately sea level are rare and have anomalous crustal thicknesses >14 km that only occur proximal to large igneous provinces (LIPs). Hyaloclastite is uncommon on mid-ocean ridges as it is generally restricted to water depths of <200 m for tholeiitic basalts, instead forming mostly on intraplate seamounts. Additionally, ocean drilling recently found hyaloclastite to be insignificant along the outer Vøring Plateau (offshore Norway)—an exemplar of a volcanic margin. Reconstructions of Rodinia and associated LIPs demonstrate that volcanic margins potentially hosting minor hyaloclastites were scarce during the late Neoproterozoic. We conclude that the shallow-ridge hypothesis fails to explain the formation of cap carbonates and suggest that other mechanisms such as enhanced continental weathering may be largely responsible.","PeriodicalId":503125,"journal":{"name":"Geology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139854113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zaili Tao, Jiyuan Yin, Christopher J. Spencer, Min Sun, W. Xiao, Andrew C. Kerr, Tao Wang, Pengpeng Huangfu, Yunchuan Zeng, Wen Chen
{"title":"Subduction polarity reversal facilitated by plate coupling during arc-continent collision: Evidence from the Western Kunlun orogenic belt, northwest Tibetan Plateau","authors":"Zaili Tao, Jiyuan Yin, Christopher J. Spencer, Min Sun, W. Xiao, Andrew C. Kerr, Tao Wang, Pengpeng Huangfu, Yunchuan Zeng, Wen Chen","doi":"10.1130/g51847.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1130/g51847.1","url":null,"abstract":"Subduction polarity reversal usually involves the break off or tearing of the downgoing plate (DP) along the continent-ocean transition zone, in order to initiate subduction of the overriding plate (OP) with opposite polarity. We propose that subduction polarity reversal can also be caused by DP-OP coupling and can account for the early Paleozoic geological relationships in the Western Kunlun orogenic belt in the northwestern Tibetan Plateau. Our synthesis of elemental and isotopic data reveals transient (∼2 m.y.) changes in the sources of early Paleozoic arc magmatism in the southern Kunlun terrane. The early-stage (ca. 530−487 Ma) magmatic rocks display relatively high εNd(t) (+0.3 to +8.7), εHf(t) (−3.6 to +16.0), and intra-oceanic arc-like features. In contrast, the late-stage (485−430 Ma) magmatic rocks have predominantly negative εNd(t) (−4.5 to +0.3), εHf(t) (−8.8 to +0.9), and higher incompatible trace elements (e.g., Th), similar to the sub-continental lithospheric mantle beneath the Tarim craton. This abrupt temporal-spatial variation of arc magmatism, together with the detrital zircon evidence, indicate that subduction polarity reversal of the Proto-Tethys Ocean occurred in a period of ∼10 m.y., consistent with the time interval reflected by ophiolite age. This rapid polarity reversal corresponds with the absence of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic and post-collisional magmatic rocks, features normally characteristic of slab break-off or tearing. Numerical modeling shows that this polarity reversal was caused by plate coupling during arc-continent collision. This coupling modified the normal succession of arc-continent collision events, preventing slab break-off or tearing-induced buoyant rock rebound and asthenosphere upwelling. Our model successfully explains early Paleozoic orogenesis in the Western Kunlun orogenic belt and may be applied elsewhere where post-collisional magmatic and UHP rocks are absent.","PeriodicalId":503125,"journal":{"name":"Geology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139852192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zaili Tao, Jiyuan Yin, Christopher J. Spencer, Min Sun, W. Xiao, Andrew C. Kerr, Tao Wang, Pengpeng Huangfu, Yunchuan Zeng, Wen Chen
{"title":"Subduction polarity reversal facilitated by plate coupling during arc-continent collision: Evidence from the Western Kunlun orogenic belt, northwest Tibetan Plateau","authors":"Zaili Tao, Jiyuan Yin, Christopher J. Spencer, Min Sun, W. Xiao, Andrew C. Kerr, Tao Wang, Pengpeng Huangfu, Yunchuan Zeng, Wen Chen","doi":"10.1130/g51847.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1130/g51847.1","url":null,"abstract":"Subduction polarity reversal usually involves the break off or tearing of the downgoing plate (DP) along the continent-ocean transition zone, in order to initiate subduction of the overriding plate (OP) with opposite polarity. We propose that subduction polarity reversal can also be caused by DP-OP coupling and can account for the early Paleozoic geological relationships in the Western Kunlun orogenic belt in the northwestern Tibetan Plateau. Our synthesis of elemental and isotopic data reveals transient (∼2 m.y.) changes in the sources of early Paleozoic arc magmatism in the southern Kunlun terrane. The early-stage (ca. 530−487 Ma) magmatic rocks display relatively high εNd(t) (+0.3 to +8.7), εHf(t) (−3.6 to +16.0), and intra-oceanic arc-like features. In contrast, the late-stage (485−430 Ma) magmatic rocks have predominantly negative εNd(t) (−4.5 to +0.3), εHf(t) (−8.8 to +0.9), and higher incompatible trace elements (e.g., Th), similar to the sub-continental lithospheric mantle beneath the Tarim craton. This abrupt temporal-spatial variation of arc magmatism, together with the detrital zircon evidence, indicate that subduction polarity reversal of the Proto-Tethys Ocean occurred in a period of ∼10 m.y., consistent with the time interval reflected by ophiolite age. This rapid polarity reversal corresponds with the absence of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic and post-collisional magmatic rocks, features normally characteristic of slab break-off or tearing. Numerical modeling shows that this polarity reversal was caused by plate coupling during arc-continent collision. This coupling modified the normal succession of arc-continent collision events, preventing slab break-off or tearing-induced buoyant rock rebound and asthenosphere upwelling. Our model successfully explains early Paleozoic orogenesis in the Western Kunlun orogenic belt and may be applied elsewhere where post-collisional magmatic and UHP rocks are absent.","PeriodicalId":503125,"journal":{"name":"Geology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139792292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Submarine volcanism along shallow ridges did not drive Cryogenian cap carbonate formation","authors":"A. Dutkiewicz, R. D. Müller","doi":"10.1130/g51884.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1130/g51884.1","url":null,"abstract":"The termination of Neoproterozoic “Snowball Earth” glaciations is marked globally by laterally extensive neritic cap carbonates directly overlying glacial diamictites. The formation of these unique deposits on deglaciation calls for anomalously high calcium carbonate saturation. A popular mechanism to account for the source of requisite ocean alkalinity is the shallow-ridge hypothesis, in which initial spreading ridges surrounding fragments of Rodinia, assumed to be dominated by volcanic margins, were formed at sea level. The shallow ridges are inferred to have promoted widespread deposition and alteration of glassy hyaloclastite—a source of alkalinity. We test this hypothesis by quantifying the prevalence of shallow ridges along Pangea’s passive continental margins, and by assessing Neoproterozoic reconstructions of continents. We find that the most frequently occurring depth range for incipient mid-ocean ridges is 2.1 ± 0.4 km. Ridges with initial elevations of approximately sea level are rare and have anomalous crustal thicknesses >14 km that only occur proximal to large igneous provinces (LIPs). Hyaloclastite is uncommon on mid-ocean ridges as it is generally restricted to water depths of <200 m for tholeiitic basalts, instead forming mostly on intraplate seamounts. Additionally, ocean drilling recently found hyaloclastite to be insignificant along the outer Vøring Plateau (offshore Norway)—an exemplar of a volcanic margin. Reconstructions of Rodinia and associated LIPs demonstrate that volcanic margins potentially hosting minor hyaloclastites were scarce during the late Neoproterozoic. We conclude that the shallow-ridge hypothesis fails to explain the formation of cap carbonates and suggest that other mechanisms such as enhanced continental weathering may be largely responsible.","PeriodicalId":503125,"journal":{"name":"Geology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139794092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Initiation of the Cascade arc","authors":"J. Tepper, Kenneth P. Clark","doi":"10.1130/g51888.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1130/g51888.1","url":null,"abstract":"The Cascade arc (western North America) is the world’s youngest continental arc, and because the down-going Juan de Fuca plate is young, it is also the hottest end member among subduction zones worldwide. We present evidence that the arc initiated <5 m.y. after accretion of the Siletzia oceanic terrane terminated the earlier subduction system and caused the northern portion of the Farallon slab to break off. Cascade magmatism began ca. 46 Ma with a new trench outboard of Siletzia, a reconfiguration commonly attributed to a seaward jump of the subduction zone. However, the presence of young buoyant oceanic lithosphere that would have resisted being forced into the mantle and the very rapid reestablishment of arc magmatism are hard to reconcile with initiation of a new subduction zone by this process. We propose an alternative mechanism in which the arc was reestablished as the intact southern portion of Farallon slab migrated northward from California (United States), converting a transform margin to a convergent one. This model utilizes plate reconstructions, petrology, mantle tomography, and geochronology to explain how subduction was initiated in a setting where the slab was young and hot and why the earliest Cascade magmatism occurred toward the middle rather than an end of the arc.","PeriodicalId":503125,"journal":{"name":"Geology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139793567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Dutkiewicz, A. Merdith, Alan S. Collins, Ben Mather, Lauren Ilano, S. Zahirovic, R. D. Müller
{"title":"Duration of Sturtian “Snowball Earth” glaciation linked to exceptionally low mid-ocean ridge outgassing","authors":"A. Dutkiewicz, A. Merdith, Alan S. Collins, Ben Mather, Lauren Ilano, S. Zahirovic, R. D. Müller","doi":"10.1130/g51669.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1130/g51669.1","url":null,"abstract":"The Sturtian “Snowball Earth” glaciation (ca. 717−661 Ma) is regarded as the most extreme interval of icehouse climate in Earth’s history. The exact trigger and sustention mechanisms for this long-lived global glaciation remain obscure. The most widely debated causes are silicate weathering of the ca. 718 Ma Franklin large igneous province (LIP) and changes in the length and degassing of continental arcs. A new generation of two independent Neoproterozoic full-plate tectonic models now allows us to quantify the role of tectonics in initiating and sustaining the Sturtian glaciation. We find that continental arc length remains relatively constant from 850 Ma until the end of the glaciation in both models and is unlikely to play a role. The two plate motion models diverge in their predictions of the timing and progression of Rodinia break-up, ocean-basin age, ocean-basement depth, sea-level evolution, and mid-ocean ridge (MOR) carbon outflux. One model predicts MOR outflux and ocean basin volume−driven sea level lower than during the Late Cenozoic glaciation, while the other predicts outgassing and sea level exceeding those of the Late Cretaceous hothouse climate. The second model would preclude a major glaciation, while the first model implies that the trigger for the Sturtian glaciation could have been a combination of an extremely low MOR outflux (∼9 Mt C/yr) and Franklin LIP weathering. Such minimal outflux could have maintained an icehouse state for 57 m.y. when silicate weathering was markedly reduced, with a gradual build-up of MOR CO2 in the atmosphere paired with terrestrial volcanism leading to its termination.","PeriodicalId":503125,"journal":{"name":"Geology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139855199","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Dutkiewicz, A. Merdith, Alan S. Collins, Ben Mather, Lauren Ilano, S. Zahirovic, R. D. Müller
{"title":"Duration of Sturtian “Snowball Earth” glaciation linked to exceptionally low mid-ocean ridge outgassing","authors":"A. Dutkiewicz, A. Merdith, Alan S. Collins, Ben Mather, Lauren Ilano, S. Zahirovic, R. D. Müller","doi":"10.1130/g51669.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1130/g51669.1","url":null,"abstract":"The Sturtian “Snowball Earth” glaciation (ca. 717−661 Ma) is regarded as the most extreme interval of icehouse climate in Earth’s history. The exact trigger and sustention mechanisms for this long-lived global glaciation remain obscure. The most widely debated causes are silicate weathering of the ca. 718 Ma Franklin large igneous province (LIP) and changes in the length and degassing of continental arcs. A new generation of two independent Neoproterozoic full-plate tectonic models now allows us to quantify the role of tectonics in initiating and sustaining the Sturtian glaciation. We find that continental arc length remains relatively constant from 850 Ma until the end of the glaciation in both models and is unlikely to play a role. The two plate motion models diverge in their predictions of the timing and progression of Rodinia break-up, ocean-basin age, ocean-basement depth, sea-level evolution, and mid-ocean ridge (MOR) carbon outflux. One model predicts MOR outflux and ocean basin volume−driven sea level lower than during the Late Cenozoic glaciation, while the other predicts outgassing and sea level exceeding those of the Late Cretaceous hothouse climate. The second model would preclude a major glaciation, while the first model implies that the trigger for the Sturtian glaciation could have been a combination of an extremely low MOR outflux (∼9 Mt C/yr) and Franklin LIP weathering. Such minimal outflux could have maintained an icehouse state for 57 m.y. when silicate weathering was markedly reduced, with a gradual build-up of MOR CO2 in the atmosphere paired with terrestrial volcanism leading to its termination.","PeriodicalId":503125,"journal":{"name":"Geology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139795237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}