Rheological inheritance controls the formation of segmented rifted margins in cratonic lithosphere
Abstract Observations from rifted margins reveal that significant structural and crustal variability develops through the process of continental extension and breakup. While a clear link exists between distinct margin structural domains and specific phases of rifting, the origin of strong segmentati...
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2021
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crspringernat:10.1038/s41467-021-24945-5 2023-05-15T17:06:09+02:00 Rheological inheritance controls the formation of segmented rifted margins in cratonic lithosphere Gouiza, M. Naliboff, J. 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24945-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24945-5.pdf https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24945-5 en eng Springer Science and Business Media LLC https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 CC-BY Nature Communications volume 12, issue 1 ISSN 2041-1723 General Physics and Astronomy General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology General Chemistry journal-article 2021 crspringernat https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24945-5 2022-01-04T07:19:11Z Abstract Observations from rifted margins reveal that significant structural and crustal variability develops through the process of continental extension and breakup. While a clear link exists between distinct margin structural domains and specific phases of rifting, the origin of strong segmentation along the length of margins remains relatively ambiguous and may reflect multiple competing factors. Given that rifting frequently initiates on heterogenous basements with a complex tectonic history, the role of structural inheritance and shear zone reactivation is frequently examined. However, the link between large-scale variations in lithospheric structure and rheology and 3-D rifted margin geometries remains relatively unconstrained. Here, we use 3-D thermo-mechanical simulations of continental rifting, constrained by observations from the Labrador Sea, to unravel the effects of inherited variable lithospheric properties on margin segmentation. The modelling results demonstrate that variations in the initial crustal and lithospheric thickness, composition, and rheology produce sharp gradients in rifted margin width, the timing of breakup and its magmatic budget, leading to strong margin segmentation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Labrador Sea Springer Nature (via Crossref) Nature Communications 12 1 |
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Open Polar |
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Springer Nature (via Crossref) |
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crspringernat |
language |
English |
topic |
General Physics and Astronomy General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology General Chemistry |
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General Physics and Astronomy General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology General Chemistry Gouiza, M. Naliboff, J. Rheological inheritance controls the formation of segmented rifted margins in cratonic lithosphere |
topic_facet |
General Physics and Astronomy General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology General Chemistry |
description |
Abstract Observations from rifted margins reveal that significant structural and crustal variability develops through the process of continental extension and breakup. While a clear link exists between distinct margin structural domains and specific phases of rifting, the origin of strong segmentation along the length of margins remains relatively ambiguous and may reflect multiple competing factors. Given that rifting frequently initiates on heterogenous basements with a complex tectonic history, the role of structural inheritance and shear zone reactivation is frequently examined. However, the link between large-scale variations in lithospheric structure and rheology and 3-D rifted margin geometries remains relatively unconstrained. Here, we use 3-D thermo-mechanical simulations of continental rifting, constrained by observations from the Labrador Sea, to unravel the effects of inherited variable lithospheric properties on margin segmentation. The modelling results demonstrate that variations in the initial crustal and lithospheric thickness, composition, and rheology produce sharp gradients in rifted margin width, the timing of breakup and its magmatic budget, leading to strong margin segmentation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gouiza, M. Naliboff, J. |
author_facet |
Gouiza, M. Naliboff, J. |
author_sort |
Gouiza, M. |
title |
Rheological inheritance controls the formation of segmented rifted margins in cratonic lithosphere |
title_short |
Rheological inheritance controls the formation of segmented rifted margins in cratonic lithosphere |
title_full |
Rheological inheritance controls the formation of segmented rifted margins in cratonic lithosphere |
title_fullStr |
Rheological inheritance controls the formation of segmented rifted margins in cratonic lithosphere |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rheological inheritance controls the formation of segmented rifted margins in cratonic lithosphere |
title_sort |
rheological inheritance controls the formation of segmented rifted margins in cratonic lithosphere |
publisher |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24945-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24945-5.pdf https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24945-5 |
genre |
Labrador Sea |
genre_facet |
Labrador Sea |
op_source |
Nature Communications volume 12, issue 1 ISSN 2041-1723 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24945-5 |
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Nature Communications |
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12 |
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1 |
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1766061168876584960 |