The Continental Margin Off Labrador and Eastern Newfoundland–Morphology and Geology

1972 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1394-1430 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. Grant
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Geologic Structure ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Vertical Movements ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
Precambrian Rocks ◽  
Vertical Displacements ◽  
Sea Floor Spreading

Seismic profiler surveys have defined the landward limit of presumed Mesozoic–Cenozoic deposits on the continental shelf off Labrador and eastern Newfoundland. Along the Labrador coast the contact of these deposits with Precambrian rocks coincides with a pronounced 'marginal channel'; off eastern Newfoundland their contact with rocks of the Appalachian System is marked by a landward-facing escarpment. The physiographic relief characterizing this contact zone reflects erosional exploitation of the associated contrast in erosional susceptibility. The chief erosional agent is considered to have been the Quaternary glaciers. The marginal channel off northern Labrador is indicated as a zone of major faulting, which probably further enhanced the erosional vulnerability. The transverse depressions cutting the outer shelf off Labrador and Newfoundland are likewise considered to be zones of structural dislocation, which have been physiographically emphasized through processes of erosion.Integration of the seismic profiler results with other geophysical and geological data from the study region consistently supports the concept that the morphology of the continental margin expresses fundamental elements of geologic structure. Available evidence can apparently be reasonably synthesized in terms of a structural model based upon differential vertical movements of segments of continental crust. By this approach the structure of the continental margin north of the Grenville Front off Labrador may be very different from that of the continental margin bordering the western Atlantic Ocean to the south. In addition, the continental fragments represented by Orphan Knoll and Flemish Cap are indicated as having experienced only vertical displacements during postulated episodes of late and post-Cretaceous sea-floor spreading.

A Discussion on volcanism and the structure of the Earth - Proposals concerning the variation of volcanic products and processes within the oceanic environment

1972 ◽  
Vol 271 (1213) ◽  
pp. 131-140 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Structural Model ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Fracture Zones ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Incompatible Elements ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Sea Floor Spreading ◽  
Low Pressures

An attempt is made to fit available petrochemical data on oceanic volcanic rocks into the structural model for the ocean basins presented by the plate tectonic theory. It is suggested that there are three major volcanic regimes: (i) the low-potassic olivine tholeiite association of the axial zones of the oceanic ridges where magmatic liquids are generated at low pressures high in the mantle, (ii) the alkalic (Na > K) associations along linear fractures where liquids generated at greater depth gain easy egress to the surface, (iii) those alkalic associations, rich in incompatible elements, of island groups, remote from fracture zones, where magmas created at depth proceed slowly to the surface and in consequence suffer intense fractionation. There are certain discrepancies in this pattern, notably that there is no apparent relation between rate of sea-floor spreading and degree of over-saturation of the axial zone basalts and that certain areas, such as Iceland, are characterized by excess volcanism. Explanation of these anomalies is sought by examining an oceanic area in an early stage of development—the Red Sea. It is tentatively suggested that the initial split of a contiguous continent might be brought about by the linking of profound fractures, caused by domal uplift related to rising isolated lithothermal systems, and that the present anomalies in oceanic volcanism may reflect the variation in rate of thermal convection within the original isolated lithothermal plumes.

Stratigraphic evolution of Triassic arc-backarc system in northwestern Croatia

2005 ◽  
Vol 176 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Špela Goričan ◽  
Josip Halamić ◽  
Tonći Grgasović ◽  
Tea Kolar-Jurkovšek
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
Middle Triassic ◽  
Extensional Tectonics ◽  
Carbonate Platforms ◽  
Backarc Basin ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
Western Tethys ◽  
Backarc Basins ◽  
Sea Floor Spreading ◽  
Stratigraphic Evolution

Abstract Middle Triassic arc-related extensional tectonics in the western Tethys generated a complex pattern of intra-and backarc basins. We studied volcano-sedimentary successions of subsided continental-margin blocks (Mts. Žumberak and Ivanščica) and of dismembered incomplete ophiolite sequences interpreted as remnants of a backarc basin (Mts. Medvednica and Kalnik) in northwestern Croatia. We dated the successions with radiolarians, conodonts, foraminifers, algae, and sponges. The continental margin experienced a phase of accelerated subsidence in the late Anisian that was approximately coincident with the onset of intermediate and acidic volcanism; pelagic sediments with volcaniclastics accumulated atop subsided carbonate platforms. These relatively shallow basins were later infilled completely by prograding platforms in the late Ladinian-Carnian. In the backarc basin, sea-floor spreading initiated near the Anisian-Ladinian boundary and continued into the late Carnian. Pillow basalts were erupted and interlayered with radiolarian cherts and shales. The studied area was a part of a larger Triassic arc-backarc system preserved in the southern Alps, Alpine-Carpathian Belt, Dinarides, and Hellenides. Volcano-sedimentary successions of Mts. Medvednica and Kalnik are relics of the Meliata-Maliak backarc basin. In comparison to other previously dated oceanic remnants of this system, the longest continuous sea-floor spreading is now documented in one restricted tectonic unit.

Ridge subduction: kinematics and implications for the nature of mantle upwelling

1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 893-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Farrar ◽  
John M. Dixon
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Continental Margin ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Thermal Anomaly ◽  
Driving Mechanism ◽  
Mantle Upwelling ◽  
Basin And Range Province ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
Ridge Subduction ◽  
Sea Floor Spreading

Ridge subduction follows the approach of an oceanic spreading centre towards a trench and subduction of the leading oceanic plate beneath the overriding plate. There are four possible kinematic scenarios: (1) welding of the trailing and overriding plates (e.g., Aluk–Antarctic Ridge beneath Antarctica); (2) slower subduction of the trailing plate (e.g., Nazca–Antarctic Ridge beneath Chile and Pacific–Izanagi Ridge beneath Japan); (3) transform motion between the trailing and overriding plates (e.g., San Andreas Transform); or (4) divergence between the overriding and trailing plates (e.g., Pacific – North America). In case 4, the divergence may be accommodated in two ways: the overriding plate may be stretched (e.g., Basin and Range Province extension, which has brought the continental margin into collinearity (and, therefore, transform motion) with the Pacific – North America relative motion); or divergence may occur at the continental margin and be manifest as a change in rate and direction of sea-floor spreading because the pair of spreading plates changes (e.g., from Pacific–Farallon to Pacific – North America), spawning a secondary spreading centre (i.e., Gorda – Juan de Fuca – Explorer ridge system) that migrates away from the overriding plate.Mantle upwelling associated with sea-floor spreading ridges is widely regarded as a passive consequence, rather than an active cause, of plate divergence. Geological and geophysical phenomena attendant to ridge–trench interaction suggest that regardless of the kinematic relations among the three plates, a thermal anomaly formerly associated with the ridge migrates beneath the overriding plate. The persistence of this thermal anomaly demonstrates that active mantle upwelling may continue for tens of millions of years after ridge subduction. Thus, regardless of whether the mantle upwelling was active or passive at its origin, it becomes active if the spreading continues for sufficient time and, thus, must contribute to the driving mechanism of plate tectonics.

The Canadian Cordillera, the Hellenides, and the Sea-Floor Spreading Theory

1972 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 709-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Dercourt
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Continental Margin ◽  
Middle Jurassic ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Canadian Cordillera ◽  
Transform Faults ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
Sea Floor Spreading

The theory of plate tectonics is applied to the tectonic evolution of the Hellenides and the Canadian Cordillera. In the Hellenides a Tethyan zone of sea-floor spreading developed within the continental crust during Triassic time and functioned until the end of the Middle Jurassic. It led to the formation of two plates, each with continental and oceanic segments, that were separated in some places by accreting plate margins and in others by transform faults. In Late Jurassic time the mid-Tethyan ridge became inactive as new ridges developed in the Atlantic Ocean. From Late Jurassic to Recent time, Tethyan oceanic crust largely disappeared under one of the cratons. The chronology of tectonic events in the Hellenides corresponds well with that of sea-floor spreading in the Atlantic.Four periods of sea-floor spreading were involved in the formation of the Canadian Cordillera: (1) a Silurian? to Early Devonian period when an Archeo-Pacific Ocean separated the Canadian craton with a stable sedimentary margin from a volcanic archipelago; (2) a Middle Devonian to Permian period when the extinct volcanic archipelago was bounded to the west by a spreading Paleo-Pacific Ocean, and to the east by a tectonic contact which was consuming Archeo-Pacific oceanic crust; part of this crust was obducted over the continental margin; (3) a Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic period when a second volcanic archipelago separated a spreading Neo-Pacific Ocean from the continental margin; and (4) a Late Jurassic to Recent period where spreading occurred in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, subjecting the second volcanic archipelago and the continental margin to major tectonism; since the Paleocene, the Cordillera has slid towards the NNW along transform faults.

scholarly journals Tectonic evolution of the southern part of Central Viet Nam and the adjacent area

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 801-825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phung Van Phach ◽  
Le Duc Anh
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Tectonic Evolution ◽  
Boundary Surface ◽  
Indian Plate ◽  
Viet Nam ◽  
Adjacent Area ◽  
Lateral Movement ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Vertical Movements

Interpretations of seismic, gravity and magnetic anomalies and structural data on the coastal zone of southern part of Central Viet Nam (SCVN) and the adjacent Tertiary basins suggest several phases in the tectonic evolution of the study region since the Late Cretaceous to Quaternary. In this paper, we try to clarify the tectonic evolution of SCVN and the adjacent continental margin. The Cretaceous – Paleocene tectonic phase commenced after cessation of the West Pacific plutonic magmatic activity that produced numerous diabases and aplite dykes of mainly sub-meridian orientation. It was characterized by N–S compression and E–W extension. The geomorphology and geology ofSE Asiawere considerably changed during the Neotectonic phases caused by collision between the Indian plate and the Eurasian continent. Two tectonic phases – Early and Late Neotectonic – are separated by a regional unconformity represented by a boundary surface between below strongly deformed strata (synrift) and above less deformed formations (post-rift). The Early Neotectonic phase was related to the left-lateral movement of the Red River Fault Zone (RRFZ) and includes two tectonic sub-phases: Eocene – Oligocene (NW–SE compression), and Oligocene – Miocene (E–W compression). Activity in the Oligocene-Miocene sub-phase gave birth to rift basins in the continental margin of the SCVN. The Late Neotectonic phase began since the RRFZ stopped left-lateral movement and the East Viet Nam (orSouth China) Sea stopped spreading. The Late Neotectonic phase is also divided into two tectonic sub-phases: Late Early Miocene (sub-meridian compression), and Late Miocene – Pliocene (NE–SW compression). The Late Miocene – Pliocene sub-phase is characterized by vertical movements that caused episodic uplifting of the onland terrains, and subsidence of the offshore Phu Khanh basin. Besides, Miocene – Pliocene-Quarternary basaltic eruptions were widespread all over the southern Indosinian terrain and the continental margin.

Episodes of sea-floor spreading recorded by the North Atlantic basement

1971 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.R. Vogt ◽  
G.L. Johnson ◽  
T.L. Holcombe ◽  
J.G. Gilg ◽  
O.E. Avery
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Sea Floor Spreading

scholarly journals Meals for two: foraging activity of the butterflyfish Chaetodon Striatus (perciformes) in southeast Brazil

2005 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Bonaldo ◽  
J. P. Krajewski ◽  
I. Sazima
Keyword(s):  
Benthic Invertebrates ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Foraging Activity ◽  
Feeding Rates ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Late Afternoon ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
Rocky Reefs ◽  
Feeding Activities

The banded butterflyfish (Chaetodon striatus) from the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic is a territorial, diurnal forager on benthic invertebrates. It is usually seen moving singly or in pairs, a few meters above the sea floor. We studied the foraging activity of C. striatus on rocky reefs in southeastern Brazil. This fish spent about 11 h and 30 min per day on feeding activities, and preferred colonies of non-scleratinian anthozoans over sandy and rocky substrata while foraging. The lowest feeding rates were recorded in the early morning and late afternoon, but we found no further differences between feeding rates throughout the day. We also found no differences between the feeding rates of paired and single individuals.

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