The Aceh Fault, a major strike-slip fault forming the northernmost segment of Great Sumatran Fault, exhibits recent faulting through prominent scarps along its 250-km length. Running northwest-southeast, it traverses northwestern Sumatra from Tripa to Banda Aceh, a city of over 268,000 residents that is more commonly associated with the 2004 tsunami, but also lies directly on this active fault zone. Understanding the earthquake rupture history, including pre-instrumental events, is essential to characterize long-term seismic patterns and to assess associated hazards. We investigated the fault using 8-m resolution DEM (DEMNAS) for the entire fault zone, 15-cm resolution lidar DEM for selected areas, field mapping, and paleoseismology. Two paleoseismic trenches excavated in the Geumpang area reveal evidence of at least three ground-rupturing earthquakes over the past ∼1000 years. Event timing was constrained by radiocarbon analysis of detrital charcoal, providing sufficient chronological control to identify two well-dated events and one older event with lower precision. These results confirm that the Aceh Fault is active, delineate its surface trace, and offer the first detailed record of prehistoric earthquakes along this fault. This information contributes to improved seismic hazard mapping and a clearer understanding of tectonic risk in the Banda Aceh region.
{"title":"Active fault map and paleoseismology results from the Aceh Fault in North Sumatra, Indonesia: Unravelling faulting dynamics along the Great Sumatran Fault system","authors":"Gayatri Indah Marliyani , Yann Klinger , Aulia Kurnia Hady , Agung Setianto , Wenqian Yao , Hurien Helmi , Telly Kurniawan , Retno Agung Prasetyo Kambali , Zulham Sugito , Abdi Jihad , Yosi Setiawan , Andi Azhar Rusdin , Jimmi Nugraha , Supriyanto Rohadi , Rahmat Triyono , Dwikorita Karnawati","doi":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230990","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230990","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Aceh Fault, a major strike-slip fault forming the northernmost segment of Great Sumatran Fault, exhibits recent faulting through prominent scarps along its 250-km length. Running northwest-southeast, it traverses northwestern Sumatra from Tripa to Banda Aceh, a city of over 268,000 residents that is more commonly associated with the 2004 tsunami, but also lies directly on this active fault zone. Understanding the earthquake rupture history, including pre-instrumental events, is essential to characterize long-term seismic patterns and to assess associated hazards. We investigated the fault using 8-m resolution DEM (DEMNAS) for the entire fault zone, 15-cm resolution lidar DEM for selected areas, field mapping, and paleoseismology. Two paleoseismic trenches excavated in the Geumpang area reveal evidence of at least three ground-rupturing earthquakes over the past ∼1000 years. Event timing was constrained by radiocarbon analysis of detrital charcoal, providing sufficient chronological control to identify two well-dated events and one older event with lower precision. These results confirm that the Aceh Fault is active, delineate its surface trace, and offer the first detailed record of prehistoric earthquakes along this fault. This information contributes to improved seismic hazard mapping and a clearer understanding of tectonic risk in the Banda Aceh region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22257,"journal":{"name":"Tectonophysics","volume":"918 ","pages":"Article 230990"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145473290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-07DOI: 10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230980
H. Tim Breitfeld , Marco W.A. van Hattum , Robert Hall , Stuart Burley , Juliane Hennig-Breitfeld , Max Franzel , Simon M. Suggate , Pieter Vermeesch , Max Webb
Most of Sabah in northern Borneo is covered with Paleogene to Lower Miocene deep marine turbidite sequences that were deposited along the southern side of the Proto-South China Sea (PSCS). They include the Sapulut and Trusmadi formations of central-south Sabah, the Labang and Kulapis formations of eastern Sabah, the Kudat Formation of NW Sabah and the Crocker Formation of western Sabah. Sandstone petrography, heavy mineral analysis and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology reveals changing sources associated with the evolution of the PSCS. Volcanic lithic fragments in some Labang Formation samples and Middle Eocene zircons in a lower Crocker Formation sample, as well as unstable heavy minerals such as apatite and epidote indicate input from contemporaneous volcanism, likely derived from the PSCS subduction arc to the north. By contrast, abundant ultra-stable heavy minerals and Mesozoic zircons indicate multi-recycling from southern sources.
Changes in provenance are seen across key stratigraphies. The lower part of the Crocker Formation has similar provenance as the Rajang Group in Sarawak and is interpreted as a more distal equivalent. While the upper Crocker Formation has a similar provenance as the Nyalau Formation in Sarawak and is interpreted as its deeper marine continuation. Parts of the Labang and Kulapis formations suggest an extension of this depositional system into eastern Sabah. In the Early Miocene the Palawan microcontinental fragment collided with the Cagayan Arc, resulting in uplift of a forearc high and formation of mélanges in eastern Sabah. The uplifted forearc was most likely the provenance source for the Temburong Formation in western Sabah.
{"title":"Evolution of Paleogene to Early Miocene deep-water provenance sources in Sabah, northern Borneo reveals changing Proto-South China Sea paleogeography","authors":"H. Tim Breitfeld , Marco W.A. van Hattum , Robert Hall , Stuart Burley , Juliane Hennig-Breitfeld , Max Franzel , Simon M. Suggate , Pieter Vermeesch , Max Webb","doi":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230980","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230980","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Most of Sabah in northern Borneo is covered with Paleogene to Lower Miocene deep marine turbidite sequences that were deposited along the southern side of the Proto-South China Sea (PSCS). They include the Sapulut and Trusmadi formations of central-south Sabah, the Labang and Kulapis formations of eastern Sabah, the Kudat Formation of NW Sabah and the Crocker Formation of western Sabah. Sandstone petrography, heavy mineral analysis and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology reveals changing sources associated with the evolution of the PSCS. Volcanic lithic fragments in some Labang Formation samples and Middle Eocene zircons in a lower Crocker Formation sample, as well as unstable heavy minerals such as apatite and epidote indicate input from contemporaneous volcanism, likely derived from the PSCS subduction arc to the north. By contrast, abundant ultra-stable heavy minerals and Mesozoic zircons indicate multi-recycling from southern sources.</div><div>Changes in provenance are seen across key stratigraphies. The lower part of the Crocker Formation has similar provenance as the Rajang Group in Sarawak and is interpreted as a more distal equivalent. While the upper Crocker Formation has a similar provenance as the Nyalau Formation in Sarawak and is interpreted as its deeper marine continuation. Parts of the Labang and Kulapis formations suggest an extension of this depositional system into eastern Sabah. In the Early Miocene the Palawan microcontinental fragment collided with the Cagayan Arc, resulting in uplift of a forearc high and formation of mélanges in eastern Sabah. The uplifted forearc was most likely the provenance source for the Temburong Formation in western Sabah.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22257,"journal":{"name":"Tectonophysics","volume":"918 ","pages":"Article 230980"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145461751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-07DOI: 10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230999
Alvar Braathen , Elin Skurtveit
Current understanding of extensional faults, which are essential for subsurface CO2 storage, reveals that fault risk assessment and modeling are significantly hindered by uncertainty. This underscores the need for insights into the datasets and methodologies used for evaluating fault sealing and reactivation. Data on fault architecture from outcrops, combined with mechanical insights, indicate the presence of hydraulic anisotropy and varying strength relationships within faults that influence their potential for reactivation. We propose that large portions of faults may yield through minor slip events or creep, while sticky spots are responsible for larger fault slip events. Enhancing our detection and understanding of these sticky spots – primarily characterized by abrupt displacement gradients that require further investigation - could improve risk assessment, monitoring, and mitigation strategies related to fault reactivation and inform seismic activity in CO2 storage initiatives.
{"title":"Faults in CO2 storage: Anisotropy in flow and irregular displacement gradients informing reactivation","authors":"Alvar Braathen , Elin Skurtveit","doi":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230999","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230999","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Current understanding of extensional faults, which are essential for subsurface CO2 storage, reveals that fault risk assessment and modeling are significantly hindered by uncertainty. This underscores the need for insights into the datasets and methodologies used for evaluating fault sealing and reactivation. Data on fault architecture from outcrops, combined with mechanical insights, indicate the presence of hydraulic anisotropy and varying strength relationships within faults that influence their potential for reactivation. We propose that large portions of faults may yield through minor slip events or creep, while sticky spots are responsible for larger fault slip events. Enhancing our detection and understanding of these sticky spots – primarily characterized by abrupt displacement gradients that require further investigation - could improve risk assessment, monitoring, and mitigation strategies related to fault reactivation and inform seismic activity in CO2 storage initiatives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22257,"journal":{"name":"Tectonophysics","volume":"918 ","pages":"Article 230999"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145461759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-07DOI: 10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230987
Daian Chen , Shuangshuang Lan , Hongbiao Gu , Lixiao Wang
Earthquakes not only cause direct surface damage but also induce significant perturbations in subsurface aquifer systems. This study developed water level-barometric pressure/tide response models for three observation wells located in the Huaying Mountain Fault Zone, with the aim of quantitatively assessing the effects of the Wenchuan and Lushan earthquakes on both the structure and vulnerability of the aquifer. The results indicate that when there is a strong coherence between water level and barometric pressure/tide signals, the degree of model fitting is significantly improved, thereby enhancing the reliability of parameter inversion. Well B demonstrates greater suitability for the barometric model (BE = 0.907), while Wells A and C align more closely with tidal response characteristics. Overall, it was found that strong earthquakes lead to an increase in vertical leakage coefficients by 15 % to 50 %, whereas transmissivity decreases by 30 % to 50 %. Additionally, following these seismic events, the average fracture dip angle shifts by 15° to 25°, becoming more vertical; concurrently, there is a significant reduction in the aquifer vulnerability index (Cts) ranging from 20 % to 50 %. These findings suggest that earthquakes facilitate reorganization within fracture networks, enhance vertical permeability, and create new seepage channels while simultaneously diminishing pollution prevention capacity—thereby significantly elevating pollution risk. This study provides theoretical and technical support for the post-earthquake assessment of groundwater resources, as well as for the sustainable protection and targeted prevention of hydrogeological hazards.
{"title":"Quantitative estimation of earthquake effects on aquifer structure and vulnerability","authors":"Daian Chen , Shuangshuang Lan , Hongbiao Gu , Lixiao Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230987","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230987","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Earthquakes not only cause direct surface damage but also induce significant perturbations in subsurface aquifer systems. This study developed water level-barometric pressure/tide response models for three observation wells located in the Huaying Mountain Fault Zone, with the aim of quantitatively assessing the effects of the Wenchuan and Lushan earthquakes on both the structure and vulnerability of the aquifer. The results indicate that when there is a strong coherence between water level and barometric pressure/tide signals, the degree of model fitting is significantly improved, thereby enhancing the reliability of parameter inversion. Well B demonstrates greater suitability for the barometric model (BE = 0.907), while Wells A and C align more closely with tidal response characteristics. Overall, it was found that strong earthquakes lead to an increase in vertical leakage coefficients by 15 % to 50 %, whereas transmissivity decreases by 30 % to 50 %. Additionally, following these seismic events, the average fracture dip angle shifts by 15° to 25°, becoming more vertical; concurrently, there is a significant reduction in the aquifer vulnerability index (Cts) ranging from 20 % to 50 %. These findings suggest that earthquakes facilitate reorganization within fracture networks, enhance vertical permeability, and create new seepage channels while simultaneously diminishing pollution prevention capacity—thereby significantly elevating pollution risk. This study provides theoretical and technical support for the post-earthquake assessment of groundwater resources, as well as for the sustainable protection and targeted prevention of hydrogeological hazards.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22257,"journal":{"name":"Tectonophysics","volume":"919 ","pages":"Article 230987"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145461763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Ghardimaou–North Constantine (GNC) fault zone in northeastern Algeria challenges conventional strike-slip fault behavior: despite its ∼400 km length and ∼ 2.4 mm/yr slip rate, it predominantly hosts moderate-magnitude earthquakes. The 2020 Mw5.3 El Kantour earthquake—the largest recorded event on this fault—provides critical insights into its mechanics. High-resolution aftershock relocations reveal a blind, steeply SSW-dipping fault (MSF1; N107–109°E) and secondary subparallel strands forming a distributed network that partitions strain and impedes large rupture propagation. Rupture growth is further constrained by a seismogenic thickness (∼14 km), coinciding with a regional lower-crustal low-velocity zone (LVZ) likely acting as decoupling layer and mid-crustal barrier. Stress inversions indicate mechanical weakness, with very low friction (μ ≈ 0.25) and high fault activation angles. The sequence exhibits dual seismic behaviors: (1) mainshock–aftershock patterns near the main fault at mid-crustal depths, and (2) swarm-like, shallow off-fault cluster (85 % of events) featuring severely misoriented fault at distance over 3 km from the mainshock. Spatiotemporal multiplet patterns—including a ∼ 0.8 km/day migration rate, rapid initial bursts up to 7 km/day, spatial distribution (∼6 km), and 42-day sporadic activity —support pore-pressure diffusion and aseismic slip activation. Post-seismic sand-laden spring discharges confirm transient pore-pressure perturbations. These observations reveal a multi-process coupling between coseismic stress transfer, pore-pressure diffusion, aseismic slip, and brittle failure, forming a self-regulating feedback system that distributes stress across a permeable fracture network and prevents runaway ruptures. Our findings underscore the need for integrative hydromechanical models accounting for fluid-driven weakening, aseismic slip, and crustal rheology to refine seismic hazard assessment in fluid-rich, mechanically weak fault systems.
阿尔及利亚东北部的Ghardimaou-North Constantine （GNC）断裂带挑战了传统的走滑断层行为：尽管其长度约400公里，滑动率约2.4毫米/年，但它主要发生中等震级地震。2020年发生的Mw5.3 El Kantour地震是该断层上有记录以来最大的地震，它为断层的机制提供了重要的见解。高分辨率的余震重定位揭示了一条盲目的、陡峭的ssw倾斜断层（MSF1; N107-109°E）和次级亚平行链，它们形成了一个分布式网络，分隔了应变，阻碍了大破裂的传播。断裂增长进一步受到发震厚度（~ 14 km）的限制，与区域下地壳低速带（LVZ）相吻合，可能起到解耦层和中地壳屏障的作用。应力反转表明机械弱点，摩擦力非常小（μ≈0.25），断层活化角很大。该序列表现出双重地震行为：(1)在地壳中部深处主断层附近的主震-余震模式；(2)在距离主震3公里以上的地方，以严重定向错误的断层为特征的群状浅层离断层群集（85%的事件）。时空多重模式——包括0.8公里/天的迁移速率、高达7公里/天的快速初始爆发、6公里的空间分布和42天的零星活动——支持孔隙压力扩散和地震滑动激活。地震后含砂弹簧泄放证实了瞬态孔隙压力扰动。这些观察结果揭示了同震应力传递、孔隙压力扩散、地震滑动和脆性破坏之间的多过程耦合，形成了一个自我调节的反馈系统，该系统将应力分布在渗透性裂缝网络中，并防止失控破裂。我们的研究结果强调，需要综合流体力学模型来考虑流体驱动的弱化、地震滑动和地壳流变，以完善富流体、机械弱断裂系统的地震危险性评估。
{"title":"Fluid-mediated and structural controls on small-to-moderate seismicity: Insights from the 2020 El Kantour Mw 5.3 sequence, Ghardimaou–North Constantine Fault Zone, NE Algeria","authors":"Hichem Bendjama , El-Mahdi Tikhamarine , Oualid Boulahia , Issam Abacha , Hamoud Beldjoudi","doi":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230988","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230988","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Ghardimaou–North Constantine (GNC) fault zone in northeastern Algeria challenges conventional strike-slip fault behavior: despite its ∼400 km length and ∼ 2.4 mm/yr slip rate, it predominantly hosts moderate-magnitude earthquakes. The 2020 Mw5.3 El Kantour earthquake—the largest recorded event on this fault—provides critical insights into its mechanics. High-resolution aftershock relocations reveal a blind, steeply SSW-dipping fault (MSF1; N107–109°E) and secondary subparallel strands forming a distributed network that partitions strain and impedes large rupture propagation. Rupture growth is further constrained by a seismogenic thickness (∼14 km), coinciding with a regional lower-crustal low-velocity zone (LVZ) likely acting as decoupling layer and mid-crustal barrier. Stress inversions indicate mechanical weakness, with very low friction (μ ≈ 0.25) and high fault activation angles. The sequence exhibits dual seismic behaviors: (1) mainshock–aftershock patterns near the main fault at mid-crustal depths, and (2) swarm-like, shallow off-fault cluster (85 % of events) featuring severely misoriented fault at distance over 3 km from the mainshock. Spatiotemporal multiplet patterns—including a ∼ 0.8 km/day migration rate, rapid initial bursts up to 7 km/day, spatial distribution (∼6 km), and 42-day sporadic activity —support pore-pressure diffusion and aseismic slip activation. Post-seismic sand-laden spring discharges confirm transient pore-pressure perturbations. These observations reveal a multi-process coupling between coseismic stress transfer, pore-pressure diffusion, aseismic slip, and brittle failure, forming a self-regulating feedback system that distributes stress across a permeable fracture network and prevents runaway ruptures. Our findings underscore the need for integrative hydromechanical models accounting for fluid-driven weakening, aseismic slip, and crustal rheology to refine seismic hazard assessment in fluid-rich, mechanically weak fault systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22257,"journal":{"name":"Tectonophysics","volume":"918 ","pages":"Article 230988"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145448032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-05DOI: 10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230989
Menglong Liao , Yuanzhi Cheng , Bo Han , Zhongxing Wang , Yinan Tian , Yanlong Kong
To reveal the seismogenic mechanism of the 2016 Aketao Mw6.6 earthquake and the formation mechanism of the Muji travertine cone group, this study deployed 56 magnetotelluric (MT) stations in the source region and surrounding the Muji Basin. Post-earthquake magnetotelluric data inversion results demonstrate that: (1) the earthquake hypocenter is located near the interface between low-resistivity body C1 and high-resistivity body R2, representing a finite rupture within high-resistivity body R2; (2) the deep-seated stable fluid system C8 influenced the occurrence of this earthquake, while the genesis and temporal evolution of low-resistivity body C1 remain uncertain; (3) a large-scale low-resistivity body C2 exists north of the Muji travertine cone group. Combined with regional structural analysis, we conclude that the seismogenic process of the 2016 Aketao earthquake was primarily controlled by the coupling between the regional tectonic stress field and local rock mass mechanical properties. The heterogeneity of both stress field and electrical structure along the Muji fault jointly controlled the complex rupture propagation process. Low-resistivity body C2 represents deep fluid presence, where the southwestern boundary fault of the Muji Basin provides migration pathways for deep fluids, thereby controlling the formation and distribution of the travertine cone group.
{"title":"Electrical structure of the Muji Basin and adjacent areas in the Pamir: Implications for the 2016 Aketao Mw 6.6 earthquake and the Muji travertine cone group","authors":"Menglong Liao , Yuanzhi Cheng , Bo Han , Zhongxing Wang , Yinan Tian , Yanlong Kong","doi":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230989","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230989","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To reveal the seismogenic mechanism of the 2016 Aketao Mw6.6 earthquake and the formation mechanism of the Muji travertine cone group, this study deployed 56 magnetotelluric (MT) stations in the source region and surrounding the Muji Basin. Post-earthquake magnetotelluric data inversion results demonstrate that: (1) the earthquake hypocenter is located near the interface between low-resistivity body C1 and high-resistivity body R2, representing a finite rupture within high-resistivity body R2; (2) the deep-seated stable fluid system C8 influenced the occurrence of this earthquake, while the genesis and temporal evolution of low-resistivity body C1 remain uncertain; (3) a large-scale low-resistivity body C2 exists north of the Muji travertine cone group. Combined with regional structural analysis, we conclude that the seismogenic process of the 2016 Aketao earthquake was primarily controlled by the coupling between the regional tectonic stress field and local rock mass mechanical properties. The heterogeneity of both stress field and electrical structure along the Muji fault jointly controlled the complex rupture propagation process. Low-resistivity body C2 represents deep fluid presence, where the southwestern boundary fault of the Muji Basin provides migration pathways for deep fluids, thereby controlling the formation and distribution of the travertine cone group.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22257,"journal":{"name":"Tectonophysics","volume":"918 ","pages":"Article 230989"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145448033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-05DOI: 10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230984
Shenghan Zhang , Wenbin Zhu , Bohua Zhu , Nijiati Aibibula , Lining Yang , Nan Wu , Jiangfeng Yang
Igneous sills are extensively developed in sedimentary basins and play a critical role in magma storage and transport during volcanic eruptions. Mounting evidence from Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) highlights the significance of sill complexes in shaping eruption dynamics. However, existing models of shallow magmatic plumbing systems within LIPs are primarily based on field-based datasets, which often lack spatial continuity and subsurface resolution. We integrated high-resolution 3D seismic data with borehole observations to map the subsurface igneous rocks in the central Tarim Basin, a key region within the Tarim LIP. To better resolve the spatial architecture of residual flood basalts and underlying sill complexes in the Tarim LIP, we applied the Constrained Sparse Spike Inversion (CSSI) technique. Sixteen igneous sills are identified through combined seismic and well data analysis, alongside the mapped distribution of flood basalt sequences. Coherency attribute analysis reveals a network of magma conduits linking deep sill intrusions to overlying volcanic strata. These sills, emplaced along the Middle–Upper Ordovician disconformity in the Tarim Basin (the M disconformity), facilitated likely lateral magma transport. The associated dyke swarms formed by sill complexes can serve as conduits enabling magma ascent and subsequent surface eruption. Given the study area spans both central and marginal zones of the Tarim LIP, our results offer the 3D reconstruction of sill-to-conduit linkages of the shallow magmatic plumbing system and its role in feeding large-scale basaltic eruptions.
{"title":"Magmatic plumbing systems of the Tarim Large Igneous Province as revealed by 3D seismic images","authors":"Shenghan Zhang , Wenbin Zhu , Bohua Zhu , Nijiati Aibibula , Lining Yang , Nan Wu , Jiangfeng Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230984","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230984","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Igneous sills are extensively developed in sedimentary basins and play a critical role in magma storage and transport during volcanic eruptions. Mounting evidence from Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) highlights the significance of sill complexes in shaping eruption dynamics. However, existing models of shallow magmatic plumbing systems within LIPs are primarily based on field-based datasets, which often lack spatial continuity and subsurface resolution. We integrated high-resolution 3D seismic data with borehole observations to map the subsurface igneous rocks in the central Tarim Basin, a key region within the Tarim LIP. To better resolve the spatial architecture of residual flood basalts and underlying sill complexes in the Tarim LIP, we applied the Constrained Sparse Spike Inversion (CSSI) technique. Sixteen igneous sills are identified through combined seismic and well data analysis, alongside the mapped distribution of flood basalt sequences. Coherency attribute analysis reveals a network of magma conduits linking deep sill intrusions to overlying volcanic strata. These sills, emplaced along the Middle–Upper Ordovician disconformity in the Tarim Basin (the M disconformity), facilitated likely lateral magma transport. The associated dyke swarms formed by sill complexes can serve as conduits enabling magma ascent and subsequent surface eruption. Given the study area spans both central and marginal zones of the Tarim LIP, our results offer the 3D reconstruction of sill-to-conduit linkages of the shallow magmatic plumbing system and its role in feeding large-scale basaltic eruptions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22257,"journal":{"name":"Tectonophysics","volume":"918 ","pages":"Article 230984"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145448040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-04DOI: 10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230986
Xiaohui Liu , Yimin Liu , Ying Rao , Yangrui Guo , Xiaoyu Guo , Xingfu Huang , Huilin Li , Lin Ding , Rui Gao
The Qiangtang terrane in the central Tibetan Plateau records critical evidence for understanding the early stages of plateau growth. However, the timing, mechanisms, and paleotopographic evolution of the central Qiangtang terrane remain controversial, which limits our understanding of closure of the Tethys Ocean and related uplift of Tibet. This study focuses on the Shuanghu basin of the central Qiangtang terrane, where we integrated new detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology and clumped isotope (Δ47) thermometry. Our results demonstrate that the detrital zircon age spectra of the Eocene strata in the Shuanghu basin are dominated by populations at 240–190 Ma, 675–500 Ma and 1040–770 Ma, consistent with those from the Cretaceous strata in the same basin. This suggests a persistent sediment source from Late Triassic granitic rocks and pre-Jurassic metamorphic basements within the central Qiangtang, rather than from the northern or southern Qiangtang terranes. Clumped isotope results of ca. 90–120 °C indicate that the primary formation temperatures of terrestrial carbonates have been reset, precluding paleoelevation reconstruction, most likely due to recrystallization and vein formation during Neogene east-west extension. Collectively, our new data, together with existing structural, thermochronological, and magmatic evidence, indicate that the Lhasa-Qiangtang collision before the Late Cretaceous triggered widespread crustal shortening, exhumation, and outward-propagating deformation from the central Qiangtang terrane. These processes led to significant surface uplift of the central Qiangtang terrane, establishing a proto-plateau prior to the Cenozoic India-Asia collision. These findings highlight the central Qiangtang terrane's role as an initial growth nucleus of the Tibetan Plateau, with its uplift predating Cenozoic continental collision.
{"title":"Cretaceous–Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the central Qiangtang terrane and implications for the initial growth of the Tibetan Plateau","authors":"Xiaohui Liu , Yimin Liu , Ying Rao , Yangrui Guo , Xiaoyu Guo , Xingfu Huang , Huilin Li , Lin Ding , Rui Gao","doi":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230986","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230986","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Qiangtang terrane in the central Tibetan Plateau records critical evidence for understanding the early stages of plateau growth. However, the timing, mechanisms, and paleotopographic evolution of the central Qiangtang terrane remain controversial, which limits our understanding of closure of the Tethys Ocean and related uplift of Tibet. This study focuses on the Shuanghu basin of the central Qiangtang terrane, where we integrated new detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology and clumped isotope (<em>Δ</em><sub>47</sub>) thermometry. Our results demonstrate that the detrital zircon age spectra of the Eocene strata in the Shuanghu basin are dominated by populations at 240–190 Ma, 675–500 Ma and 1040–770 Ma, consistent with those from the Cretaceous strata in the same basin. This suggests a persistent sediment source from Late Triassic granitic rocks and pre-Jurassic metamorphic basements within the central Qiangtang, rather than from the northern or southern Qiangtang terranes. Clumped isotope results of ca. 90–120 °C indicate that the primary formation temperatures of terrestrial carbonates have been reset, precluding paleoelevation reconstruction, most likely due to recrystallization and vein formation during Neogene east-west extension. Collectively, our new data, together with existing structural, thermochronological, and magmatic evidence, indicate that the Lhasa-Qiangtang collision before the Late Cretaceous triggered widespread crustal shortening, exhumation, and outward-propagating deformation from the central Qiangtang terrane. These processes led to significant surface uplift of the central Qiangtang terrane, establishing a proto-plateau prior to the Cenozoic India-Asia collision. These findings highlight the central Qiangtang terrane's role as an initial growth nucleus of the Tibetan Plateau, with its uplift predating Cenozoic continental collision.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22257,"journal":{"name":"Tectonophysics","volume":"918 ","pages":"Article 230986"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145434942","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-04DOI: 10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230983
Xueling Wang , Xiaoming Shen , Zhiyuan He , Xiaoping Yuan , Paul R. Eizenhöfer , Yukui Ge , Xuemin Pan , Xiong Wu , Yingying Jia , Yanglin Zhao
The Gongga Shan (main peak of Gongga Mountain at 7556 m) on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is a key area for studying plateau tectonic evolution owing to its remarkable topographic relief and rapid uplift, with a local relief exceeding 6500 m within a horizontal distance of ∼30 km. This study investigates the topographic growth history and driving mechanisms of Gongga Shan since the late Miocene through quantitative geomorphic analyses (hypsometric integral, , and normalized river steepness index, ), combined with low-temperature thermochronology and cosmogenic nuclide datasets. Our results show exceptionally large values for and near the main peak while spearman statistics further reveal a significant positive relationship between and , supporting their tectonic significance, while the influence of precipitation and lithology only shows a weak correlation. Modeling constrained by the thermochronologic dataset indicates that rapid exhumation commenced in the late Miocene (∼10–8 Ma), with the exhumation center migrating southward along the Xianshuihe Fault and localizing near the main peak around 2 Ma with exhumation rates exceeding 3 mm/yr. Integrating previous geological and geophysical evidence, we propose that underthrusting of the Yangtze Craton (YZC) beneath the Songpan-Garzê Terrane (SGT) laid the deep tectonic foundation for uplift, while lithospheric-scale deformation along the geometric bend of the Xianshuihe Fault promoting rock uplift. Climatic factors (precipitation and glaciation) further accelerated surface erosion and, in turn, facilitating rock uplift. Our findings reveal a tectonically dominated, surface evolution model for Gongga Shan's uplift history, providing new insights into the tectonic-geomorphic coupling processes along the eastern Tibetan Plateau.
{"title":"Insights into the uplift mechanism of Gongga Shan, Eastern Tibetan Plateau: From the perspective of geomorphic and exhumation characteristics","authors":"Xueling Wang , Xiaoming Shen , Zhiyuan He , Xiaoping Yuan , Paul R. Eizenhöfer , Yukui Ge , Xuemin Pan , Xiong Wu , Yingying Jia , Yanglin Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230983","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230983","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Gongga Shan (main peak of Gongga Mountain at 7556 m) on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is a key area for studying plateau tectonic evolution owing to its remarkable topographic relief and rapid uplift, with a local relief exceeding 6500 m within a horizontal distance of ∼30 km. This study investigates the topographic growth history and driving mechanisms of Gongga Shan since the late Miocene through quantitative geomorphic analyses (hypsometric integral, <span><math><mi>HI</mi></math></span>, and normalized river steepness index, <span><math><msub><mi>k</mi><mi>sn</mi></msub></math></span>), combined with low-temperature thermochronology and cosmogenic nuclide datasets. Our results show exceptionally large values for <span><math><mi>HI</mi></math></span> and <span><math><msub><mi>k</mi><mrow><mi>s</mi><mi>n</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> near the main peak while spearman statistics further reveal a significant positive relationship between <span><math><mi>HI</mi></math></span> and <span><math><msub><mi>k</mi><mrow><mi>s</mi><mi>n</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>, supporting their tectonic significance, while the influence of precipitation and lithology only shows a weak correlation. Modeling constrained by the thermochronologic dataset indicates that rapid exhumation commenced in the late Miocene (∼10–8 Ma), with the exhumation center migrating southward along the Xianshuihe Fault and localizing near the main peak around 2 Ma with exhumation rates exceeding 3 mm/yr. Integrating previous geological and geophysical evidence, we propose that underthrusting of the Yangtze Craton (YZC) beneath the Songpan-Garzê Terrane (SGT) laid the deep tectonic foundation for uplift, while lithospheric-scale deformation along the geometric bend of the Xianshuihe Fault promoting rock uplift. Climatic factors (precipitation and glaciation) further accelerated surface erosion and, in turn, facilitating rock uplift. Our findings reveal a tectonically dominated, surface evolution model for Gongga Shan's uplift history, providing new insights into the tectonic-geomorphic coupling processes along the eastern Tibetan Plateau.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22257,"journal":{"name":"Tectonophysics","volume":"918 ","pages":"Article 230983"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145441706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-04DOI: 10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230981
Bernard Montaron , Paul Tapponnier , Anne Briais , Philippe Hervé Leloup
We present 2-D reconstructions representing the extended version of the continental extrusion model, on which late Paul Tapponnier worked with the co-authors, and which provides a coherent mechanism for the origin of most major faults and basins in South-East Asia, in the last 50 My. In that model, the northward progression of India within Asia induces the nucleation and motion along a series of major strike-slip faults allowing the extrusion to the southeast of slices of Sundaland. Along the faults, and at their tips, pull-apart basins form, corresponding to the basins around Sundaland. From ~46 Ma, a first NNE trending right-lateral fault opens the Mergui basin. From ∼42 until 32 Ma, five NW-SE left-lateral faults activate from SW to NE extruding blocks toward the SE, allowing the formation of the Pattani, Malay, Tonle Sap, Yinggehai, and Natuna-Rajang pull-apart Basins, and terminating in the Makassar, Nam Con Son, Cuu Long Basins and the South China Sea. The faults are the Three Pagodas, Wang Chao, Tonle Sap, and the Ailao Shan - Red River shear zones. After ∼15 Ma extrusion stops in Sundaland and migrates further north. A major tectonic reorganization follows on land with offshore inversion of motion of several microplates, initiating a thrust of Borneo over the southern margin of the South China Sea, forming a sedimentary prism often misinterpreted as evidence for subduction of a proto-South China Sea. We discuss how the motion on strike-slip faults resulting from India-Asia collision explains most of the rifting and seafloor spreading in the region.
{"title":"A reconstruction of the last 50 My of South-East Asia's tectonic history","authors":"Bernard Montaron , Paul Tapponnier , Anne Briais , Philippe Hervé Leloup","doi":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230981","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230981","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We present 2-D reconstructions representing the extended version of the continental extrusion model, on which late Paul Tapponnier worked with the co-authors, and which provides a coherent mechanism for the origin of most major faults and basins in South-East Asia, in the last 50 My. In that model, the northward progression of India within Asia induces the nucleation and motion along a series of major strike-slip faults allowing the extrusion to the southeast of slices of Sundaland. Along the faults, and at their tips, pull-apart basins form, corresponding to the basins around Sundaland. From ~46 Ma, a first NNE trending right-lateral fault opens the Mergui basin. From ∼42 until 32 Ma, five NW-SE left-lateral faults activate from SW to NE extruding blocks toward the SE, allowing the formation of the Pattani, Malay, Tonle Sap, Yinggehai, and Natuna-Rajang pull-apart Basins, and terminating in the Makassar, Nam Con Son, Cuu Long Basins and the South China Sea. The faults are the Three Pagodas, Wang Chao, Tonle Sap, and the Ailao Shan - Red River shear zones. After ∼15 Ma extrusion stops in Sundaland and migrates further north. A major tectonic reorganization follows on land with offshore inversion of motion of several microplates, initiating a thrust of Borneo over the southern margin of the South China Sea, forming a sedimentary prism often misinterpreted as evidence for subduction of a proto-South China Sea. We discuss how the motion on strike-slip faults resulting from India-Asia collision explains most of the rifting and seafloor spreading in the region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22257,"journal":{"name":"Tectonophysics","volume":"919 ","pages":"Article 230981"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145434700","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号