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2 pages, 147 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Editorial of Special Issue “Tectonics and Morphology of Back-Arc Basins”

by Maria Filomena Loreto

Geosciences 2022, 12(2), 86; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12020086 - 14 Feb 2022

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Abstract

Back-arc basins are tectonic domains within subduction systems shaped mainly by extensional and transtensional tectonics or in some cases by compression, volcanism and intense hydrothermalism [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tectonics and Morphology of Back-Arc Basins)

Research

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17 pages, 8787 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Back-Arc Spreading Centers and Superfast Subduction: The Case of the Northern Lau Basin (SW Pacific Ocean)

by Camilla Palmiotto, Eleonora Ficini, Maria Filomena Loreto, Filippo Muccini and Marco Cuffaro

Geosciences 2022, 12(2), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12020050 - 20 Jan 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4362

Abstract

The Lau Basin is a back-arc region formed by the subduction of the Pacific plate below the Australian plate. We studied the regional morphology of the back-arc spreading centers of the Northern Lau basin, and we compared it to their relative spreading rates. [...] Read more.

The Lau Basin is a back-arc region formed by the subduction of the Pacific plate below the Australian plate. We studied the regional morphology of the back-arc spreading centers of the Northern Lau basin, and we compared it to their relative spreading rates. We obtained a value of 60.2 mm/year along the Northwest Lau Spreading Centers based on magnetic data, improving on the spreading rate literature data. Furthermore, we carried out numerical models including visco-plastic rheologies and prescribed surface velocities, in an upper plate-fixed reference frame. Although our thermal model points to a high temperature only near the Tonga trench, the model of the second invariant of the strain rate shows active deformation in the mantle from the Tonga trench to ~800 km along the overriding plate. This explains the anomalous magmatic production along all the volcanic centers in the Northern Lau Back-Arc Basin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tectonics and Morphology of Back-Arc Basins)

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21 pages, 5270 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ridge Jumps and Mantle Exhumation in Back-Arc Basins

by Valentina Magni, John Naliboff, Manel Prada and Carmen Gaina

Geosciences 2021, 11(11), 475; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11110475 - 19 Nov 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3580

Abstract

Back-arc basins in continental settings can develop into oceanic basins, when extension lasts long enough to break up the continental lithosphere and allow mantle melting that generates new oceanic crust. Often, the basement of these basins is not only composed of oceanic crust, [...] Read more.

Back-arc basins in continental settings can develop into oceanic basins, when extension lasts long enough to break up the continental lithosphere and allow mantle melting that generates new oceanic crust. Often, the basement of these basins is not only composed of oceanic crust, but also of exhumed mantle, fragments of continental crust, intrusive magmatic bodies, and a complex mid-ocean ridge system characterised by distinct relocations of the spreading centre. To better understand the dynamics that lead to these characteristic structures in back-arc basins, we performed 2D numerical models of continental extension with asymmetric and time-dependent boundary conditions that simulate episodic trench retreat. We find that, in all models, episodic extension leads to rift and/or ridge jumps. In our parameter space, the length of the jump ranges between 1 and 65 km and the timing necessary to produce a new spreading ridge varies between 0.4 and 7 Myr. With the shortest duration of the first extensional phase, we observe a strong asymmetry in the margins of the basin, with the margin further from trench being characterised by outcropping lithospheric mantle and a long section of thinned continental crust. In other cases, ridge jump creates two consecutive oceanic basins, leaving a continental fragment and exhumed mantle in between the two basins. Finally, when the first extensional phase is long enough to form a well-developed oceanic basin (>35 km long), we observe a very short intra-oceanic ridge jump. Our models are able to reproduce many of the structures observed in back-arc basins today, showing that the transient nature of trench retreat that leads to episodes of fast and slow extension is the cause of ridge jumps, mantle exhumation, and continental fragments formation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tectonics and Morphology of Back-Arc Basins)

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22 pages, 12266 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

The Volcanic Relief within the Kos-Nisyros-Tilos Tectonic Graben at the Eastern Edge of the Aegean Volcanic Arc, Greece and Geohazard Implications

by Paraskevi Nomikou, Pavlos Krassakis, Stavroula Kazana, Dimitrios Papanikolaou and Nikolaos Koukouzas

Geosciences 2021, 11(6), 231; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11060231 - 27 May 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 6654

Abstract

The active Kos-Nisyros-Tilos volcanic field is located in the eastern sector of the Aegean Volcanic Arc resulting from the subduction of the African plate beneath the Aegean plate. The volcanic activity is developed since Middle Pleistocene and it occurs within a tectonic graben [...] Read more.

The active Kos-Nisyros-Tilos volcanic field is located in the eastern sector of the Aegean Volcanic Arc resulting from the subduction of the African plate beneath the Aegean plate. The volcanic activity is developed since Middle Pleistocene and it occurs within a tectonic graben with several volcanic outcrops both onshore and offshore. Data obtained from previous offshore geophysical surveys and ROV exploration, combined with geospatial techniques have been used to construct synthetic maps of the broader submarine area. The volcanic relief is analyzed from the base of the volcanic structures offshore to their summits onshore reaching 1373 m of height and their volumes have been computed with 24.26 km³ for Nisyros Island and a total volume of 54.42 km³ for the entire volcanic area. The volcanic structures are distinguished in: (1) volcanic cones at the islands of Nisyros (older strato-volcano), Pergousa, Yali and Strongyli, (2) volcanic domes at the islands of Pachia, East Kondeliousa and Nisyros (younger Prophitis Ilias domes), (3) submarine volcanic calderas (Avyssos and Kefalos). Submarine volcanic debris avalanches have been also described south of Nisyros and undulating features at the eastern Kefalos bay. Submarine canyons and channels are developed along the Kos southern margin contrary to the Tilos margin. Ground truth campaigns with submarine vessels and ROVs have verified the previous analysis in several submarine volcanic sites. The geohazards of the area comprise: (1) seismic hazard, both due to the activation of major marginal faults and minor intra-volcanic faults, (2) volcanic hazard, related to the recent volcanic structures and long term iconic eruptions related to the deep submarine calderas, (3) tsunami hazard, related to the seismic hazard as well as to the numerous unstable submarine slopes with potential of gravity sliding. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tectonics and Morphology of Back-Arc Basins)

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16 pages, 10179 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Clinopyroxene Crystals in Basic Lavas of the Marsili Volcano Chronicle Early Magmatic Stages in a Back-Arc Transcrustal Mush System

by Teresa Trua and Michael P. Marani

Geosciences 2021, 11(4), 159; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11040159 - 1 Apr 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2403 | Correction

Abstract

Constraining the pre-eruptive processes that modulate the chemical evolution of erupted magmas is a challenge. An opportunity to investigate this issue is offered by the interrogation of the crystals carried in lavas. Here, we employ clinopyroxene crystals from back-arc lavas in order to [...] Read more.

Constraining the pre-eruptive processes that modulate the chemical evolution of erupted magmas is a challenge. An opportunity to investigate this issue is offered by the interrogation of the crystals carried in lavas. Here, we employ clinopyroxene crystals from back-arc lavas in order to identify the processes driving basalt to andesite magma evolution within a transcrustal plumbing system. The assembled clinopyroxene archive reveals that mantle melts injected at the crust-mantle transition cool and crystalize, generating a clinopyroxene-dominated mush capped by a melt-rich domain. Magma extracted from this deep storage zone fed the eruption of basalt to basaltic andesite lavas. In addition, chemically evolved melts rapidly rising from this zone briefly stalled at shallow crustal levels, sourcing crystal-poor andesite lavas. Over time, hot ascending primitive magmas intercepted and mixed with shallower cooling magma bodies forming hybrid basic lavas. The blended clinopyroxene cargoes of these lavas provide evidence for the hybridization, which is undetectable from a whole-rock chemical perspective, as mixing involved chemically similar basic magmas. The heterogeneity we found within the clinopyroxene archive is unusual since it provides, for the first time, a complete set of mush-related scenarios by which mantle melts evolve from basalt to andesite compositions. Neither the whole-rock chemistry alone nor the record of the mineral phases crystallizing subsequent to clinopyroxene can provide insights on such early magmatic processes. The obtained clinopyroxene archive can be used as a template for interpretation of the record preserved in the clinopyroxene cargoes of basalt to andesite lavas elsewhere, giving insights into the magma dynamics of the feeding plumbing system that are lost when using whole-rock chemistry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tectonics and Morphology of Back-Arc Basins)

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20 pages, 11217 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Inverted Basins by Africa–Eurasia Convergence at the Southern Back-Arc Tyrrhenian Basin

by Maria Filomena Loreto, Camilla Palmiotto, Filippo Muccini, Valentina Ferrante and Nevio Zitellini

Geosciences 2021, 11(3), 117; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11030117 - 4 Mar 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3149

Abstract

The southern part of Tyrrhenian back-arc basin (NW Sicily), formed due to the rifting and spreading processes in back-arc setting, is currently undergoing contractional tectonics. The analysis of seismic reflection profiles integrated with bathymetry, magnetic data and seismicity allowed us to map a [...] Read more.

The southern part of Tyrrhenian back-arc basin (NW Sicily), formed due to the rifting and spreading processes in back-arc setting, is currently undergoing contractional tectonics. The analysis of seismic reflection profiles integrated with bathymetry, magnetic data and seismicity allowed us to map a widespread contractional tectonics structures, such as positive flower structures, anticlines and inverted normal faults, which deform the sedimentary sequence of the intra-slope basins. Two main tectonic phases have been recognised: (i) a Pliocene extensional phase, active during the opening of the Vavilov Basin, which was responsible for the formation of elongated basins bounded by faulted continental blocks and controlled by the tear of subducting lithosphere; (ii) a contractional phase related to the Africa-Eurasia convergence coeval with the opening of the Marsili Basin during the Quaternary time. The lithospheric tear occurred along the Drepano paleo-STEP (Subduction-Transform-Edge-Propagator) fault, where the upwelling of mantle, intruding the continental crust, formed a ridge. Since Pliocene, most of the contractional deformation has been focused along this ridge, becoming a good candidate for a future subduction initiation zone. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tectonics and Morphology of Back-Arc Basins)

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20 pages, 5560 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Discovery of Ancient Volcanoes in the Okhotsk Sea (Russia): New Constraints on the Opening History of the Kurile Back Arc Basin

by Reinhard Werner, Boris Baranov, Kaj Hoernle, Paul van den Bogaard, Folkmar Hauff and Igor Tararin

Geosciences 2020, 10(11), 442; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10110442 - 6 Nov 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3071

Abstract

Here we present the first radiometric age and geochemical (major and trace element and isotope) data for samples from the Hydrographer Ridge, a back arc volcano of the Kurile Island Arc, and a newly discovered chain of volcanoes (“Sonne Volcanoes”) on the northwestern [...] Read more.

Here we present the first radiometric age and geochemical (major and trace element and isotope) data for samples from the Hydrographer Ridge, a back arc volcano of the Kurile Island Arc, and a newly discovered chain of volcanoes (“Sonne Volcanoes”) on the northwestern continental slope of the Kurile Basin on the opposite side of the arc. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age and geochemical data show that Hydrographer Ridge (3.2–3.3 Ma) and the “Sonne Volcanoes” (25.3–25.9 Ma) have very similar trace element and isotope characteristics to those of the Kurile Island Arc, indicating derivation from a common magma source. We conclude that the age of the “Sonne Volcanoes” marks the time of opening of the Kurile Basin, implying slow back arc spreading rates of 1.3–1.8 cm/y. Combined with published data from the Kurile fore arc, our data suggest that the processes of subduction, Kurile Basin opening and frontal arc extension occurred synchronously and that extension in the rear part and in the frontal part of the Kurile Island Arc must have been triggered by the same mechanism. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tectonics and Morphology of Back-Arc Basins)

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