Philippe Vernant

Active transtension inside central Alborz: A new insight into northern Iran–southern Caspian geodynamics

The tectonic activity in the Alborz mountain range, northern Iran, is due both to the northward convergence of central Iran toward Eurasia, and to the northwestward motion of the South Caspian Basin with respect to Eurasia inducing a left-lateral wrenching along this range. These two mechanisms give rise to a NNE-SSW transpressional regime, which is believed to have affected the entire range for the last 5 6 2 m.y. In this paper, we show that the internal domain of central Alborz is not affected by a transpressional regime but by an active transtension with a WNW-ESE extensional axis. We show that this transten- sion is young (middle Pleistocene). It postdates an earlier N-S compression and may have been initiated when the South Caspian Basin started moving. Consequently, our results suggest that the South Caspian Basin motion may have taken place more recently than previously proposed.

Active tectonics of the western Mediterranean: Geodetic evidence for rollback of a delaminated subcontinental lithospheric slab beneath the Rif Mountains, Morocco

Surface deformation in Morocco, derived from five years of global positioning system (GPS) survey observations of a 22-station network, four continuously recording GPS (CGPS) stations, and four International GNSS Service (IGS) stations in Iberia, indicates roughly southward motion (∼3 mm/yr) of the Rif Mountains, Morocco, relative to stable Africa. Motion of the Rif is approximately normal to the direction of Africa-Eurasia relative motion, which is predominantly strike slip, and results in shortening of the Rif and subsequent crustal extension of the adjacent Alboran Sea region. The sense, and the N-S asymmetry of the observed deformation (i.e., no evidence for north-directed shortening in the Betic Mountains north of the Alboran Sea) cannot be easily explained in terms of crustal plate interactions, suggesting that dynamic processes below the crust are driving the recent geologic evolution of the western Mediterranean. The model that best fits the observations involves delamination and southward rollback of the African lithospheric mantle under the Alboran and Rif domains.

Kinematics of the southern Red Sea-Afar Triple Junction and implications for plate dynamics

GPS measurements adjacent to the southern Red Sea and Afar Triple Junction, indicate that the Red Sea Rift bifurcates south of 17 degrees N latitude with one branch following a continuation of the main Red Sea Rift (similar to 150 degrees Az.) and the other oriented more N-S, traversing the Danakil Depression. These two rift branches account for the full Arabia-Nubia relative motion. The partitioning of extension between rift branches varies approximately linearly along strike; north of similar to 16 degrees N latitude, extension (similar to 15 mm/yr) is all on the main Red Sea Rift while at similar to 13 degrees N, extension (similar to 20 mm/yr) has transferred completely to the Danakil Depression. The Danakil Block separates the two rifts and rotates in a counterclockwise sense with respect to Nubia at a present-day rate of 1.9 +/- 0.1 degrees/Myr around a pole located at 17.0 +/- 0.2 degrees N, 39.7 +/- 0.2 degrees E, accommodating extension along the rifts and developing the roughly triangular geometry of the Danakil Depression. Rotating the Danakil Block back in time to close the Danakil Depression, and assuming that the rotation rate with respect to Nubia has been roughly constant, the present width of the Danakil Depression is consistent with initiation of block rotation at 9.3 +/- 4 Ma, approximately coincident with the initiation of ocean spreading in the Gulf of Aden, and a concomitant similar to 70% increase in the rate of Nubia-Arabia relative motion.

Clockwise rotation of the Brahmaputra Valley relative to India: Tectonic convergence in the eastern Himalaya, Naga Hills, and Shillong Plateau

GPS data reveal that the Brahmaputra Valley has broken from the Indian Plate and rotates clockwise relative to India about a point a few hundred kilometers west of the Shillong Plateau. The GPS velocity vectors define two distinct blocks separated by the Kopili fault upon which 2–3 mm/yr of dextral slip is observed: the Shillong block between longitudes 89 and 93°E rotating clockwise at 1.15°/Myr and the Assam block from 93.5°E to 97°E rotating at ≈1.13°/Myr. These two blocks are more than 120 km wide in a north-south sense, but they extend locally a similar distance beneath the Himalaya and Tibet. A result of these rotations is that convergence across the Himalaya east of Sikkim decreases in velocity eastward from 18 to ≈12 mm/yr and convergence between the Shillong Plateau and Bangladesh across the Dauki fault increases from 3 mm/yr in the west to >8 mm/yr in the east. This fast convergence rate is inconsistent with inferred geological uplift rates on the plateau (if a 45°N dip is assumed for the Dauki fault) unless clockwise rotation of the Shillong block has increased substantially in the past 4–8 Myr. Such acceleration is consistent with the reported recent slowing in the convergence rate across the Bhutan Himalaya. The current slip potential near Bhutan, based on present-day convergence rates and assuming no great earthquake since 1713 A.D., is now ~5.4 m, similar to the slip reported from alluvial terraces that offsets across the Main Himalayan Thrust and sufficient to sustain a Mw ≥ 8.0 earthquake in this area.

Erosion-induced isostatic rebound triggers extension in low convergent mountain ranges

Mechanisms that control seismic activity in low strain rate areas such as western Europe remain poorly understood. For example, in spite of low shortening rates of <0.5 mm/ yr, the Western Alps and the Pyrenees are underlain by moderate but frequent seismicity detectable by instruments. Beneath the elevated part of these mountain ranges, analysis of earthquake focal mechanisms indicates extension, which is commonly interpreted as the result of gravitational collapse. Here we show that erosional processes are the predominant control on present-day deformation and seismicity. We demonstrate, using fi nite element modeling, that erosion induces extension and rock uplift of the elevated region of mountain ranges accommodating relatively low overall convergence. Our results suggest that an erosion rate of ~1 mm/yr can lead to extension in mountain ranges accommodating signifi cant shortening of <3 mm/yr. Based on this study, the seismotectonic framework and seismic hazard assessment for low strain rate areas need to be revisited, because erosion-related earthquakes could increase seismic hazard.

Active surface deformation and sub-lithospheric processes in the western Mediterranean constrained by numerical models

We present the results of dynamic modeling of the western Mediterranean that accounts for observed global positioning system (GPS) surface deformation of the Alboran Sea and surrounding Rif and Betic Mountains as the result of the combined effects of relative motion of the Eurasian and Nubian plates, low strength in the Alboran Sea region and sub-lithospheric processes occurring beneath the External Rif domain. Assuming that the lithosphere behaves elastically over the short time period of the GPS observations, an elastic plate model is considered in our study, including an area of weak lithosphere (factor of 10) centered on the Alboran Sea and in which lateral boundary conditions consist of the Nubia-Eurasia oblique convergence. Sub-crustal processes are modeled by application of a horizontal traction on a small area (patch) at the base of the elastic plate. Our modeling studies demonstrate the need for sub-crustal or sub-lithospheric, southwestward-directed forcing to account for observed southwestward motion of the Rif and Betic domains. Based on the location, orientation, and small area of the traction patch, we hypothesize that forcing is associated with delamination and rollback of the subducted African continental lithospheric mantle beneath the External Rif zone, due to the pull of the oceanic part of the Western Mediterranean slab, a dynamic process that may be similar to that where the over-riding plate is driven toward the subduction zone during slab rollback.

Present-day uplift of the western Alps

Collisional mountain belts grow as a consequence of continental plate convergence and eventually disappear under the combined effects of gravitational collapse and erosion. Using a decade of GPS data, we show that the western Alps are currently characterized by zero horizontal velocity boundary conditions, offering the opportunity to investigate orogen evolution at the time of cessation of plate convergence. We find no significant horizontal motion within the belt, but GPS and levelling measurements independently show a regional pattern of uplift reaching ~2.5 mm/yr in the northwestern Alps. Unless a low viscosity crustal root under the northwestern Alps locally enhances the vertical response to surface unloading, the summed effects of isostatic responses to erosion and glaciation explain at most 60% of the observed uplift rates. Rock-uplift rates corrected from transient glacial isostatic adjustment contributions likely exceed erosion rates in the northwestern Alps. In the absence of active convergence, the observed surface uplift must result from deep-seated processes.

Ice cap melting and low-viscosity crustal root explain the narrow geodetic uplift of the Western Alps

More than 10 years of geodetic measurements demonstrate an uplift rate of 1–3 mm/yr of the high topography region of the Western Alps. By contrast, no significant horizontal motion has been detected. Two uplift mechanisms have been proposed: (1) the isostatic response to denudation responsible for only a fraction of the observed uplift and (2) the rebound induced by the Wurmian ice cap melting which predicts a broader uplifting region than the one evidenced by geodetic observations. Using a numerical model to fit the geodetic data, we show that a crustal viscosity contrast between the foreland and the central part of the Alps, the latter being weaker with a viscosity of 1021 Pa s, is needed. The vertical rates are enhanced if the strong uppermost mantle beneath the Moho is interrupted across the Alps, therefore allowing a weak vertical rheological anomaly over the entire lithosphere.

Evidence of interseismic coupling variations along the Bhutan Himalayan arc from new GPS data

Although the first-order pattern of present-day deformation is relatively well resolved across the Himalayas, irregular data coverage limits detailed analyses of spatial variations of interseismic coupling. We provide the first GPS velocity field for the Bhutan Himalaya. Combined with published data, these observations show strong east-west variations in coupling between central and eastern Bhutan. In contrast with previous estimations of first-order uniform interseismic coupling along the Himalayan arc, we identify significant lateral variations: In western and central Bhutan, the fully coupled segment is 135–155 km wide with an abrupt downdip transition, whereas in eastern Bhutan the fully coupled segment is 100–120 km wide and is limited updip and downdip by partially creeping segments. This is the first observation of decoupling on the upper ramp along the Himalayan arc, with important implications for large earthquake surface rupture and seismic hazard.

An estimate of the influence of loading effects on tectonic velocities in the Pyrenees

Surface displacements due to temporal changes in environmental mass redistributions are observable in the coordinate time series of many Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) sites. In this study, we investigated the effect of loading on estimates of tectonic velocity computed from campaign-style GNSS observations. The study region is in the Pyrenees mountain range between France and Spain (ResPyr campaigns). In this area, seismic activity is continuous and moderate and the expected amplitude of the horizontal tectonic velocity is less than 0.5 mm/yr. In order to determine the velocity, 4 sparse GNSS campaigns were carried out from 1995 to 2010. Considering this small rate of deformation, loading phenomena can contribute a non-negligible artifact to the velocity computation that could affect our geodynamical interpretation. In this investigation, we specifically considered the atmospheric, hydrological, and non-tidal ocean loading phenomena. The computed loading deformations for this region show the horizontal displacements are dominated by the non-tidal ocean loading (maximum 4 mm for the North and 3.1 mm for the East components); the main vertical contributions are due to the atmospheric and continental water storage loading (maximum 14.3 for the atmosphere and 8.1 mm for the hydrology, respectively). We have found that the dominant loading effect on the horizontal velocity is the non-tidal ocean loading (mean of 0.11 mm/yr), whereas the vertical component is dominated by the hydrological loading (mean of 0.21 mm/yr). Since the study area is in a mountainous region, we also analyzed the difference between the atmospheric and the topography dependent atmospheric loading models at our GNSS campaign sites. We did not find any significant difference between the two atmospheric loading models in terms of horizontal velocity. Finally, we performed simulations to identify the optimum timing and frequency of future GNSS campaigns in this area that would minimize the loading effects on tectonic velocity estimates.