Crustal structure of the Nova Scotian margin in the Laurentian Channel region

1987 ◽  
Vol 24 (9) ◽  
pp. 1859-1868 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Reid
Keyword(s):  
Crustal Structure ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Crustal Layer ◽  
Air Gun ◽  
Lower Crustal

A seismic-refraction study on the outer Scotian Shelf of eastern Canada, carried out using large air-gun sources and ocean bottom seismograph receivers, has provided structural information on the entire crustal column. A thick (about 13 km) sedimentary sequence is characterized by significant lateral variation in this area, and a marked increase in seismic velocity around 8 km depth may delineate the synrift–postrift transition. Beneath the sediments is highly attenuated continental crust, about 11 km thick, with some evidence for a lower crustal layer of velocity around 7 km/s, which may be partly due to under-plating during rifting. Determination of the complete crustal structure, including the tentative delineation of the rift–drift transition, in a region of large crustal extension provides a useful test for models of continental rifting, and a simple uniform extension–subsidence model is found to produce an adequate fit to the interpreted structure.

Crustal structure beneath the southern Grand Banks: seismic-refraction results and their implications

1988 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 760-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Reid
Keyword(s):  
Velocity Structure ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Crustal Layer ◽  
Ocean Bottom Seismograph ◽  
Grand Banks ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Air Gun ◽  
Lower Crustal

A seismic-refraction profile was shot on the southern Grand Banks using large air-gun sources and an array of ocean-bottom seismograph receivers. A sediment column 1–2 km thick directly overlies Paleozoic basement with velocity structure similar to that of the Meguma Zone of Nova Scotia. The main crustal layer is 27 km thick, with seismic velocity of 6.3 km/s increasing to about 6.5 km/s in the lowest few kilometres. Complexity is apparent in the crust–mantle transition around 32 km depth. Comparison with deep multichannel reflection data suggests that the increased velocity in the lower part of the crust may be associated with a reflective zone and shows the Mohorovičić discontinuity to be delineated by a well-defined reflection. The absence of a major lower crustal layer of intermediate velocity (> 7 km/s) is consistent with observations elsewhere in the region.

The continent–ocean boundary south of Flemish Cap: constraints from seismic refraction and gravity

1989 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 1392-1407 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Todd ◽  
I. Reid
Keyword(s):  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Crustal Layer ◽  
Air Gun ◽  
Ocean Bottom Seismometers ◽  
Plate Reconstructions ◽  
Ocean Boundary

A seismic-refraction survey providing deep crustal structural information on the continent–ocean boundary south of Flemish Cap on the east coast of Canada was carried out using large air-gun sources and ocean-bottom seismometers. The seismic-refraction results and gravity modelling suggest that thinned continental crust extends 25 km seaward of the shelf break. The transition from continental to oceanic crust with a main crustal layer p-wave velocity of 7.3 km/s extends seaward over 100 km to the south. One refraction profile with thin (~4 km) oceanic crust was probably shot on, or very near, the trace of a fracture zone. Previous plate reconstructions have suggested that Cretaceous-age sea-floor spreading south of Flemish Cap occurred as a series of short spreading segments offset by transform fauits, or by asymmetric rifting between Iberia and Flemish Cap. This study suggests that an oblique shear margin may have formed south of Flemish Cap. possibly as a result of transcurrent motion between Flemish Cap and Iberia.

Crustal structure across the Nain – Makkovik boundary on the continental shelf off Labrador from seismic refraction data

1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 460-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Reid
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Wave Velocity ◽  
Crustal Structure ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Velocity Structure ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Air Gun ◽  
P Wave Velocity

A detailed seismic refraction profile was shot along the continental shelf off Labrador, across the boundary between the Archean Nain Province to the north and the Proterozoic Makkovik orogenic zone to the south. A large air-gun source was used, with five ocean-bottom seismometers as receivers. The data were analysed by forward modelling of traveltimes and amplitudes and provided a well-determined seismic velocity structure of the crust along the profile. Within the Nain province, thin postrift sediments are underlain by crust with a P-wave velocity of 6.1 km/s, which increases with depth and reaches 6.6 km/s at about 8 km. Moho is at around 28 km, and there is no evidence for a high-velocity (>7 km/s) lower crust. The P- and S-wave velocity structure is consistent with a gneissic composition for the Archean upper crust, and with granulites becoming gradually more mafic with depth for the intermediate and lower crust. In the Makkovik zone, the sediments are thicker, and a basement layer of P-wave velocity 5.5–5.7 km/s is present, probably due to reworking of the crust and the presence of Early Proterozoic volcanics and metasediments. Upper crustal velocities are lower than in the Nain Province. The crustal thickness, at 23 km, is less, possibly due in part to greater crustal stretching during the Mesozoic rifting of the Labrador Sea. The crustal structure across the Nain–Makkovik boundary is similar to that across the corresponding Archean–Ketilidian boundary off southwest Greenland.

Seismic investigation of the Coast Plutonic Complex – Insular Belt boundary beneath the Strait of Georgia

1984 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 1033-1049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald J. White ◽  
Ron M. Clowes
Keyword(s):  
Crustal Structure ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Unconsolidated Sediments ◽  
The West ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
Seismic Properties ◽  
Air Gun ◽  
Plutonic Complex ◽  
Major Fault ◽  
Coast Plutonic Complex

The Strait of Georgia, a topographic depression between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, is considered to be the boundary between two tectonic provinces: the Coast Plutonic Complex on the east and the Insular Belt to the west. The allochthonous nature of the Insular Belt has been established, mainly on the basis of paleomagnetic measurements. Various tectonic models to explain the geological differences between the two provinces have been proposed. One of these suggests that the boundary is an old transform fault zone and is represented currently by a thrust fault along the eastern side of the Strait of Georgia. Other models propose that the Coast Plutonic Complex is a feature superimposed by tectonic and metamorphic events after the accretion of the Insular Belt. Such models do not require a major crustal discontinuity along the Strait of Georgia.In May 1982, a seismic refraction survey using a 32 L air gun and a radio telemetering sonobuoy system was carried out in the Strait of Georgia with the objective of investigating the nature of this boundary and determining the upper crustal structure. Three reversed profiles across the strait were shot; these are supplemented by several high-resolution reflection profiles from previous experiments. Two-dimensional models of the crustal structure across the strait have been constructed using a forward modelling ray trace and synthetic seismogram algorithm to match the travel times and amplitude characteristics of the data.Three basic layers or strata form the models, for which the maximum depth of reliability is 3 km. The first layer consists of unconsolidated sediments and Pleistocene glacial deposits, and the second represents Late Cretaceous – early Tertiary basin fill sediments that form the Nanaimo Group, the Burrard–Kitsilano formations, and the Chuckanut Formation. The third layer is likely the extension of the Coast Plutonic Complex beneath the strait, but the westerly limit of this unit is undetermined because of seismic properties similar to those of the Insular Belt volcanics. A local fault is located ~15 km northeast of Galiano Island on the west side of the strait. However, our study shows no evidence for a major fault along the strait. Thus those aspects of tectonic models that require the existence of a major transform or transcurrent fault boundary along the Strait of Georgia. may have to be revised.

The transition of the East European cratonic lithosphere to that of the Palaeozoic collage of the Trans-European Suture Zone as depicted on the TTZ-South deep seismic profile (SE Poland to NW Ukraine)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomasz Janik ◽  
Vitaly Starostenko ◽  
Paweł Aleksandrowski ◽  
Tamara Yegorova ◽  
Wojciech Czuba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crustal Structure ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Sedimentary Cover ◽  
Suture Zone ◽  
Crystalline Basement ◽  
Moho Depth ◽  
Crustal Layer ◽  
Velocity Inversion ◽  
East European

<p>Crustal and uppermost mantle structure along the Teisseyre-Tornquist Zone (TTZ)  was explored along the ~550 km long, NW-SE-trending TTZ-South profile, using seismic wide-angle reflection/refraction (WARR) method. The profile line was intended to follow the border between the East European Craton (EEC) and the so called Palaeozoic Platform (PP) of north-central Europe, believed to contain a number of crustal blocks that were accreted to the craton during pre-late Carboniferous times, defining the Trans-European Suture Zone (TESZ).</p><p>The seismic velocity model of the TTZ-South profile shows lateral variations in crustal structure. Its Ukrainian segment crosses the interior of the Sarmatian segment of the EEC, where the crystalline basement gradually dips from ~2 km depth in the SE to ~12 km at the Ukrainian-Polish border. This part of the model shows a four-layered crustal structure, with an up to 15 km-thick sedimentary cover, an underlying crystalline upper crust, a 10-15 km-thick middle crust and a ~15 km thick lower crust. In Poland, the profile passes along the TESZ/EEC transition zone of complex crustal structure. The crystalline basement, whose top occurs at depths of 10-17 km, separates the sedimentary cover from the ~10 km thick mid-crustal layer (Vp=6.5-6.6 km/s), which, in turn, overlies a block of 10-15 km thickness with upper crustal velocities (Vp~6.2 km/s). The latter is underlain by a ~10-15 km-thick lower crust. Along most of the model one can see conspicuous velocity inversion zones occuring at various depths. At intersections of the TTZ-South profile with some previous deep seismic profiles (e.g. CEL02, CEL05, CEL14, PANCAKE) such inversions document complex wedging relationships between the EEC and PP crustal units. These may have resulted from tectonic compression and thick-skinned thrusting due to either Neoproterozoic EEC collision with accreting terranes or intense Variscan orogenic events. Five high velocity bodies (HVB; V<sub>p</sub> = 6.85-7.2 km/s) were detected in the middle and lower crust at 15-37 km depth. The Moho depth varies substantially along the profile. It is at ~42 km depth in the NW and deepens SE-ward to ~50 km at ~685 km. Subsequently, it rises abruptly to ~43 km at the border of the Sarmatian segment of the EEC and sinks again to ~50 km beneath the Lviv Paleozoic trough at ~785 km. From this point until the SE end of the profile, the Moho gently shallows, up to a depth of ~37 km, including a step-like jump of 2 km at ~875 km. Such abrupt Moho steps may be related to crust-scale strike-slip faults. Along the whole profile, sub-Moho velocities are ~8.05-8.1 km/s, and at depths of 57-63 km Vp values reach 8.2-8.25 km/s. Four reflectors/refractors were modelled in the upper mantle at ~57-65 km and ~80 km depths.</p>

Crustal structure across the Southwest Newfoundland Transform Margin

1988 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 744-759 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Todd ◽  
I. Reid ◽  
C. E. Keen
Keyword(s):  
Continental Crust ◽  
Transition Zone ◽  
Crustal Structure ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Ocean Bottom Seismometer ◽  
Structure Information ◽  
Grand Banks ◽  
Air Gun ◽  
Transform Margin

A seismic-refraction survey providing deep crustal structure information of the continent–ocean boundary across the South-west Newfoundland Transform Margin was carried out using large air-gun sources and ocean-bottom seismometer receivers. Continental crust ~30 km thick beneath the southern Grand Banks (P-wave velocity = 6.2–6.5 km/s) thins oceanward to a 25 km wide transition zone. In the transition zone, Paleozoic basement of the Grand Banks (5.5–5.7 km/s) is replaced by a basement of oceanic volcanics and synrift sediments (4.5–5.5 km/s). Seaward of the transition zone the crust is oceanic in character, with a velocity gradient from 4.7 to 6.5 km/s and a thickness of 7–8 km. Oceanic layer 3 is absent. No significant thickness of intermediate-velocity (>7 km/s) material is present at the continent–ocean transition, indicating that no under-plating of continental crust has taken place. The continent–ocean transition across the transform margin is much narrower than across rifted margins, supporting the theory that formation of the transform margin is by shearing of continental plates.

The structure of Archean–Ketilidian crust along the continental shelf of southwestern Greenland from a seismic refraction profile

1992 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deping Chian ◽  
Keith Louden
Keyword(s):  
Lower Crust ◽  
Velocity Structure ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Mobile Belt ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Upper Crust ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Seismic Line ◽  
Wave Velocities ◽  
Air Gun

The velocity structure of the continental crust on the outer shelf of southwestern Greenland is determined from dense wide-angle reflection–refraction data obtained with large air-gun sources and ocean bottom seismometers along a 230 km seismic line. This line crosses the geological boundary between the Archean block and the Ketilidian mobile belt. Although the data have high noise levels, P- and S-wave arrivals from within the upper, intermediate, and lower crust, and at the Moho boundary, can be consistently identified and correlated with one-dimensional WKBJ synthetic seismograms. In the Archean, P- and S-wave velocities in the upper crust are 6.0 and 3.4 km/s, while in the intermediate crust they are 6.4 and 3.6 km/s. These velocities match for the upper crust a quartz–feldspar gneiss composition and for the intermediate crust an amphibolitized pyroxene granulite. In the Ketilidian mobile belt, P- and S-wave velocities are 5.6 and 3.3 km/s for the upper crust and 6.3 and 3.6 km/s for the intermediate crust. These velocities may represent quartz granite in the upper crust and granite and granitic gneiss in the intermediate crust. The upper crust is ~5 km thick in the Archean block and the Ketilidian mobile belt, and thickens to ~9 km in the southern part of the Archean. This velocity structure supports a Precambrian collisional mechanism between the Archean block and Ketilidian mobile belt. The lower crust has a small vertical velocity gradient from 6.6 km/s at 15 km depth to 6.9 km/s at 30 km depth (Moho) along the refraction line, with a nearly constant S-wave velocity around 3.8 km/s. These velocities likely represent a gabbroic and hornblende granulite composition for the lower crust. This typical (but somewhat thin) Precambrian crustal velocity structure in southwestern Greenland shows no evidence for a high-velocity, lower crustal, underplated layer caused by the Mesozoic opening of the Labrador Sea.

scholarly journals Crustal structure from a seismic refraction profile across southern British Columbia

1979 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 1024-1040 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. B. Cumming ◽  
R. M. Clowes ◽  
R. M. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Seismic Structure ◽  
Metamorphic Belt ◽  
Crustal Layer ◽  
Arrival Times ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Mine Blasts ◽  
Lower Crustal

A partially reversed seismic refraction profile utilizing mine blasts as sources was recorded across southern British Columbia from Sparwood to the Highland Valley. The westwardly directed profile consisted of 32 short period seismograms covering 440 km, while the reversed line extended 330 km with 41 seismograms. From a starting model based on first arrival times and previous geological and geophysical data, a seismic structural section is developed using both synthetic seismograms and a program for ray tracing through inhomogeneous media.The refraction data indicate that the M-discontinuity dips to the east from an approximate depth of 30 km east of the Highland Valley to in excess of 40 km beneath the Purcell Anticlinorium. Undulations of about 165 km wavelength and several kilometres amplitude characterize the crust–mantle boundary. The Pn velocity is 7.8 km/s. Above the M-discontinuity, secondary arrivals are interpreted to be from a lower crustal layer of thickness near 12 km and velocity 6.9 km/s. The upper boundary of this layer also dips gently to the east.The seismic structure of the upper crust correlates closely with the regional geology as evidenced by traveltime and amplitude anomalies where the profile crosses the Rocky Mountain Trench and the Interior Plateau – Eastern Metamorphic Belt boundaries. The crustal P and S phases in the Interior Plateau yield a relatively low value of Poisson's ratio of 0.23. The detailed data close to the Highland Valley indicate significant velocity heterogeneity. For the Guichon Creek batholith, the inner Bethlehem phase is found to have a higher velocity than the surrounding Highland Valley phase.

scholarly journals Structure and evolution of the Jan Mayen Microcontinent

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke Dannowski ◽  
Michael Schnabel ◽  
Udo Barckhausen ◽  
Dieter Franke ◽  
Martin Thorwart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continental Crust ◽  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Magnetic Anomalies ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Total Width ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
East Greenland ◽  
The North

<p>The Jan Mayen Ridge (JMR) is a 150-km-long and 10–30 km wide seafloor expression in N-S direction in the centre of the North Atlantic and part of the Jan Mayen Microcontinent (JMMC). Previous studies show that the eastern flank of the JMR was formed during the breakup of the Norway Basin along today’s Aegir Ridge, prior to magnetic anomaly C23 (~50 Ma). The western margin of the JMMC is conjugate to East Greenland. Rifting gradually propagated northward, likely from Chron C21 (~46 Ma) onward. Fan-shaped magnetic anomalies in the Norway Basin suggest that the JMMC must have rotated counter-clockwise. The JMR is likely underlain by continental crust. Volcanic flows have been observed within the sediments in the Jan Mayen Basin (JMB). While a relatively uniform upper crust was observed throughout the JMMC, the thickness of the lower continental crust varies significantly from up to 15 km below the JMR down to almost zero thickness towards the western part of the JMB. However, the character of the lower crust and the development of the conjugate East Greenland – JMMC margins during Oligocene are still disputed.</p><p>Here, we investigate the crustal structure of the JMMC using a new 265-km-long seismic refraction line crossing the JMMC at 69.7°N in E-W direction, which was acquired on board of RV Maria S. Merian during cruise MSM67. The profile consists of 30 ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) with a spacing of 9.5 km. The dataset was complemented by on-board gravity measurements and a magnetometer array towed behind the vessel during shooting. The line extends from oceanic crust in the Norway Basin, across the microcontinent and into oceanic crust that formed at the presently active mid-oceanic Kolbeinsey Ridge. The magnetic profile shows old seafloor spreading anomalies in the east (likely anomaly 24, ~52 Ma), then low amplitude magnetic anomalies in the central portion of the profile, which are typical for many plutonic continental rocks. On the western part of the profile, high amplitude anomalies of younger oceanic crust (likely anomalies C5C trough C6, ~19–16 Ma) are recognized near the western termination of the JMB. The seismic velocity distribution and crustal thickness vary strongly along the profile, with velocities typical for oceanic crust at either end of the profile and a thickened crust (12–13 km) underneath the JMR. This suggests that the JMMC consists of thinned continental crust with a total width of 100 km.</p>

scholarly journals SEISMIC REFRACTION METHOD IN THE DETERMINATION OF SITE CHARACTERISTICS

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (2D) ◽  
pp. 53-63
Author(s):  
Mundher Alsamarraie
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
Shallow Subsurface ◽  
Site Characteristics ◽  
Refraction Method ◽  
First Arrival ◽  
Seismic Refraction Method ◽  
Profile Characteristics

Preliminary site properties need geophysical methods to determine it, the same as the large use of the seismic refraction method to detect the layers of soil and the depth reaching the bedrock. This study was conducted to find out the subsurface profile characteristics of a backyard field in UTM, Skudai following the principles of this method. The analysis of seismic data processed using ZondST2D software by determining the first arrival time until we get a block model of 2D shape based on the primary propagation of seismic velocity wave’s in soil layers. It was found that the investigated subsurface profile consists of four layers showing the level of weathering grade ranges from 600–4000 m/s based on the classification of rock mass in Malaysia. It was found that weathering rates decreased at higher depth, with the increase of density for the material and dampness reduction of seismic velocity. It was concluded that the survey of seismic refraction in development can be used only for shallow subsurface profiles and far from noise and disturbance.

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