G. W. Stuart

Magma-assisted rifting in Ethiopia

The rifting of continents and evolution of ocean basins is a fundamental component of plate tectonics, yet the process of continental break-up remains controversial. Plate driving forces have been estimated to be as much as an order of magnitude smaller than those required to rupture thick continental lithosphere. However, Buck has proposed that lithospheric heating by mantle upwelling and related magma production could promote lithospheric rupture at much lower stresses. Such models of mechanical versus magma-assisted extension can be tested, because they predict different temporal and spatial patterns of crustal and upper-mantle structure. Changes in plate deformation produce strain-enhanced crystal alignment and increased melt production within the upper mantle, both of which can cause seismic anisotropy. The Northern Ethiopian Rift is an ideal place to test break-up models because it formed in cratonic lithosphere with minor far-field plate stresses. Here we present evidence of seismic anisotropy in the upper mantle of this rift zone using observations of shear-wave splitting. Our observations, together with recent geological data, indicate a strong component of melt-induced anisotropy with only minor crustal stretching, supporting the magma-assisted rifting model in this area of initially cold, thick continental lithosphere.

Strain accommodation by magmatism and faulting as rifting proceeds to breakup: Seismicity of the northern Ethiopian rift

[1] The volcanically active Main Ethiopian rift (MER) marks the transition from continental rifting in the East African rift to incipient seafloor spreading in Afar. We use new seismicity data to investigate the distribution of strain and its relationship with magmatism immediately prior to continental breakup. From October 2001 to January 2003, seismicity was recorded by up to 179 broadband instruments that covered a 250 km � 350 km area. A total of 1957 earthquakes were located within the network, a selection of which was used for accurate location with a three-dimensional velocity model and focal mechanism determination. Border faults are inactive except for a cluster of seismicity at the structurally complex intersection of the MER and the older Red Sea rift, where the Red Sea rift flank is downwarped into the younger MER. Earthquakes are localized to � 20-km-wide, right-stepping en echelon zones of Quaternary magmatism and faulting, which are underlain by mafic intrusions that rise to 8–10 km subsurface. Seismicity in these ‘‘magmatic segments’’ is characterized by low-magnitude swarms coincident with Quaternary faults, fissures, and chains of eruptive centers. All but three focal mechanisms show normal dip-slip motion; the minimum compressive stress is N103� E, perpendicular to Quaternary faults and aligned volcanic cones. The earthquake catalogue is complete above ML 2.1, and the estimated b value is 1.13 ± 0.05. The seismogenic zone lies above the 20-km-wide intrusion zones; intrusion may trigger faulting in the upper crust. New and existing data indicate that during continental breakup, intrusion of magma beneath � 20-km-wide magmatic segments accommodates the majority of strain and controls the locus of seismicity and faulting in the upper crust.

Glacier surge propagation by thermal evolution at the bed

Bakaninbreen, southern Svalbard, began a prolonged surge during 1985. In 1986, an internal reflecting horizon on radio echo sounding data was interpreted to show that the position of the surge front coincided with a transition between areas of warm (unfrozen) and cold (frozen) bed. Ground-penetrating radar lines run in 1996 and 1998 during early quiescence show that the basal region of the glacier is characterized by a strong reflection, interpreted as the top of a thick layer of sediment-rich basal ice. Down glacier of the present surge front, features imaged beneath the basal reflection are interpreted as the bottom of the basal ice layer, the base of a permafrost layer, and local ice lenses. This indicates that this region of the bed is cold. Up glacier of the surge front, a scattering zone above the basal reflection is interpreted as warm ice. There is no evidence for this warm zone down glacier of the surge front, nor do we see basal permafrost up glacier of it. Thus, as in early surge phase, the location of the surge front is now at the transition between warm and cold ice at the glacier bed. We suggest that the propagation of the front is associated with this basal thermal transition throughout the surge. Because propagation of the front occurs rapidly and generates only limited heat, basal motion during fast flow must have been restricted to a thin layer at the bed and occurred by sliding or deformation localized at the ice-bed interface.

The nature of the crust beneath the Afar triple junction: Evidence from receiver functions

The Afar depression is an ideal locale to study the role of extension and magmatism as rifting progresses to seafloor spreading. Here we present receiver function results from new and legacy experiments. Crustal thickness ranges from ∼45 km beneath the highlands to ∼16 km beneath an incipient oceanic spreading center in northern Afar. The crust beneath Afar has a thickness of 20–26 km outside the currently active rift segments and thins northward. It is bounded by thick crust beneath the highlands of the western plateau (∼40 km) and southeastern plateau (∼35 km). The western plateau shows VP/VS ranging between 1.7–1.9, suggesting a mafic altered crust, likely associated with Cenozoic flood basalts, or current magmatism. The southeastern plateau shows VP/VS more typical of silicic continental crust (∼1.78). For crustal thicknesses 2.0) can only be explained by significant amounts of magmatic intrusions in the lower crust. This suggests that melt emplacement plays an important role in late stage rifting, and melt in the lower crust likely feeds magmatic activity. The crust between the location of the Miocene Red Sea rift axis and the current rift axis is thinner ( 2.0) than beneath the eastern part of Afar (>26 km, VP/VS < 1.9). This suggests that the eastern region contains less partial melt, has undergone less stretching/extension and has preserved a more continental crustal signature than west of the current rift axis. The Red Sea rift axis appears to have migrated eastward through time to accommodate the migration of the Afar triple junction.

Englacial water distribution in a temperate glacier from surface and borehole radar velocity analysis

We have obtained common offset, common midpoint (CMP) and borehole vertical (VRP) ground-penetrating radar profiles close to the margin of Falljokull, a small, steep temperate valley glacier situated in southeast Iceland. Velocity analysis of CMP and VRP surveys provided a four-layered velocity model. This model was verified by comparison between the depths of englacial reflectors and water channels seen in borehole video, and from the depths of boreholes drilled to the bed. In the absence of sediment within the glacier ice, radar velocity is inversely proportional to water content. Using mixture models developed by Paren and Looyenga, the variation of water content with depth was determined from the radar velocity profile. At the glacier surface the calculated water content is 0.23−0.34% (velocity 0.166 m ns−1), which rises sharply to 3.0−4.1% (velocity 0.149 m ns−1) at 28 m depth, interpreted to be the level of the piezometric surface. Below the piezometric surface the water content drops slowly to 2.4−3.3% (velocity 0.152 m ns−1) until ∼102 m depth where it falls to 0.09−0.14% (velocity 0.167 m ns−1). The water content of the ice then remains low to the glacier bed at about 112 m. These results suggest storage of a substantial volume of water within the glacier ice, which has significant implications for glacier hydrology, ice rheology and interpretations of both radar and seismic surveys

Structures within the surge front at Bakaninbreen, Svalbard, using ground-penetrating radar

Ba ka ninbreen, Svalbard, sta rted to surge during 198586, and developed a surge front up to 60 m high. Assoc ia ted with down-glacier propagation of thi s surge front was the formation of shear zones and thrust faults, some of which revealed basally derived debris a t the glacier surface. H ot water drilling and sampling of basal materi al showed the glacier bed to be soft sediment more tha n I m thick. A high-resolution ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey at lOO MHz was conducted along three 500 m lines pa rallel to glacier fl ow on the surge front. The aims were to investigate the internal geometry of the thrust features, and the processes of entra inment of basal debris into bulk glacier ice. A strong linear refl ector was seen on the survey, but it is about 1520 m above the bed as ident ified from drilling depths. It probably represents the upper interface of a layer of debris-rich basal ice. Several extensive englacial refl ectors were interpreted as debris-laden emergent thrust features, varying in thickness from 0.1 to 1.1 m. These features were mapped at the glacier surface, and drilling a nd sediment sampling verified the interpreta tion. Other englacial features included regions of incipient thrusting at the basal refl ector, and an extensive region of scattering up to 30 m above the basal refl ector that we interpret as folds, or blind thrusts that te rmina te englacially. Our results clearly demonstrate the potential of GPR for mapping internal glacial structure, and suggest that thrusting is an important process by which sediment is incorporated into g lacier ice in the highly compressive region at the surge front.

The role of fluids in lower-crustal earthquakes near continental rifts

The occurrence of earthquakes in the lower crust near continental rifts has long been puzzling, as the lower crust is generally thought to be too hot for brittle failure to occur. Such anomalous events have usually been explained in terms of the lower crust being cooler than normal. But if the lower crust is indeed cold enough to produce earthquakes, then the uppermost mantle beneath it should also be cold enough, and yet uppermost mantle earthquakes are not observed. Numerous lower-crustal earthquakes occur near the southwestern termination of the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), an active continental rift in New Zealand. Here we present three-dimensional tomographic imaging of seismic velocities and seismic attenuation in this region using data from a dense seismograph deployment. We find that crustal earthquakes accurately relocated with our three-dimensional seismic velocity model form a continuous band along the rift, deepening from mostly less than 10 km in the central TVZ to depths of 30–40 km in the lower crust, 30 km southwest of the termination of the volcanic zone. These earthquakes often occur in swarms, suggesting fluid movement in critically loaded fault zones. Seismic velocities within the band are also consistent with the presence of fluids, and the deepening seismicity parallels the boundary between high seismic attenuation (interpreted as partial melt) within the central TVZ and low seismic attenuation in the crust to the southwest. This linking of upper and lower-crustal seismicity and crustal structure allows us to propose a common explanation for all the seismicity, involving the weakening of faults on the periphery of an otherwise dry, mafic crust by hot fluids, including those exsolved from underlying melt. Such fluids may generally be an important driver of lower-crustal seismicity near continental rifts.

Crustal structure of the northern Main Ethiopian Rift from receiver function studies

Abstract The northern Main Ethiopian Rift captures the crustal response to the transition from continental rifting in the East African rift to the south, to incipient seafloor spreading in the Afar depression to the north. The region has also undergone plume-related uplift and flood basalt volcanism. Receiver functions from the EAGLE broadband network have been used to determine crustal thickness and average Vp/Vs for the northern Main Ethiopian Rift and its flanking plateaus. On the flanks of the rift, the crust on the Somalian plate to the east is 38 to 40 km thick. On the western plateau, there is thicker crust to the NW (41–43 km) than to the SW (<40 km); the thinning taking place over an off-rift upper mantle low-velocity structure previously imaged by travel-time tomography. The crust is slightly more mafic (Vp/Vs ∼ 1.85) on the western plateau on the Nubian Plate than on the Somalian Plate (Vp/Vs ∼ 1.80). This could either be due to magmatic activity or different pre-rift crustal compositions. The Quaternary Butajira and Bishoftu volcanic chains, on the side of the rift, are characterized by thinned crust and a Vp/Vs > 2.0, indicative of partial melt within the crust. Within the rift, the Vp/Vs ratio increases to greater than 2.0 (Poisson’s ratio, σ > 0.33) northwards towards the Afar depression. Such high values are indicative of partial melt in the crust and corroborate other geophysical evidence for increased magmatic activity as continental rifting evolves to oceanic spreading in Afar. Along the axis of the rift, crustal thickness varies from around 38 km in the south to 30 km in the north, with most of the change in Moho depth occurring just south of the Boset magmatic segment where the rift changes orientation. Segmentation of crustal structure both between the continental and transitional part of the rift and on the western plateau may be controlled by previous structural inheritances. Both the amount of crustal thinning and the mafic composition of the crust as shown by the observed Vp/Vs ratio suggest that the magma-assisted rifting hypothesis is an appropriate model for this transitional rift.

Mantle upwellings, melt migration and the rifting of Africa: insights from seismic anisotropy

Abstract The rifting of continents and eventual formation of ocean basins is a fundamental component of plate tectonics, yet the mechanism for break-up is poorly understood. The East African Rift System (EARS) is an ideal place to study this process as it captures the initiation of a rift in the south through to incipient oceanic spreading in north-eastern Ethiopia. Measurements of seismic anisotropy can be used to test models of rifting. Here we summarize observations of anisotropy beneath the EARS from local and teleseismic body-waves and azimuthal variations in surface-wave velocities. Special attention is given to the Ethiopian part of the rift where the recent EAGLE project has provided a detailed image of anisotropy in the portion of the Ethiopian Rift that spans the transition from continental rifting to incipient oceanic spreading. Analyses of regional surface-waves show sub-lithospheric fast shear-waves coherently oriented in a north-eastward direction from southern Kenya to the Red Sea. This parallels the trend of the deeper African superplume, which originates at the core-mantle boundary beneath southern Africa and rises towards the base of the lithosphere beneath Afar. The pattern of shear-wave anisotropy is more variable above depths of 150 km. Analyses of splitting in teleseismic phases (SKS) and local shear-waves within the rift valley consistently show rift-parallel orientations. The magnitude of the splitting correlates with the degree of magmatism and the polarizations of the shear-waves align with magmatic segmentation along the rift valley. Analysis of surface-wave propagation across the rift valley confirms that anisotropy in the uppermost 75 km is primarily due to melt alignment. Away from the rift valley, the anisotropy agrees reasonably well within the pre-existing Pan-African lithospheric fabric. An exception is the region beneath the Ethiopian plateau, where the anisotropy is variable and may correspond to pre-existing fabric and ongoing melt-migration processes. These observations support models of magma-assisted rifting, rather than those of simple mechanical stretching. Upwellings, which most probably originate from the larger superplume, thermally erode the lithosphere along sites of pre-existing weaknesses or topographic highs. Decompression leads to magmatism and dyke injection that weakens the lithosphere enough for rifting and the strain appears to be localized to plate boundaries, rather than wider zones of deformation.

Contrasted styles of rifting in the eastern Gulf of Aden: A combined wide-angle, multichannel seismic, and heat flow survey

Continental rifts and passive continental margins show fundamental along-axis segmentation patterns that have been attributed to one or a number of different processes: extensional fault geometry, variable stretching along strike, preexisting lithospheric compositional and structural heterogeneities, oblique rifting, and the presence or absence of eruptive volcanic centers. The length and width scales of the rift stage fault-bounded basin systems change during the late evolution of the new plate boundary, and the role of magmatism may increase as rifting progresses to continental rupture. Along obliquely spreading ridges, first-order mid-ocean ridge geometries originate during the synrift stage, indicating an intimate relationship between magma production and transform fault spacing and location. The Gulf of Aden rift is a young ocean basin in which the earliest synrift to breakup structures are well exposed onshore and covered by thin sediment layers offshore. This obliquely spreading rift is considered magma-poor and has several large-offset transforms that originated during late stage rifting and control the first-order axial segmentation of the spreading ridge. Widely spaced geophysical transects of passive margins that produce only isolated 2-D images of crust and uppermost mantle structure are inadequate for evaluation of competing rift evolution models. Using closely spaced new geophysical and geological observations from the Gulf of Aden we show that rift sectors between transforms have a large internal variability over short distances (∼10 km): the ocean-continent transition (OCT) evolves from a narrow magmatic transition to wider zones where continental mantle is probably exhumed. We suggest that this small-scale variability may be explained (1) by the distribution of volcanism and (2) by the along-strike differences in time-averaged extension rate of the oblique rift system. The volcanism may be associated with (1) the long-offset Alula-Fartak Fracture Zone, which may enhance magma production on its younger side, or (2) channeled flow from the Afar plume material along the newly formed OCT and the spreading ridge. Oblique extension and/or hot spot interactions may thereby have a significant control on the styles of rifting and continental breakup and on the evolution of many magma-poor margins.