SUBIMAP · SUBduction Initiation at Magma-poor rifted margins: an Atlantic Perspective
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2022-01-01 → 2024-12-31
- EU contribution
- €225,939
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
SUBduction Initiation at Magma-poor rifted margins: an Atlantic Perspective
Subduction initiation is a key process in the Wilson cycle that remains, however, as a glaring unknown in Plate Tectonics. The reactivated magma-poor rifted margins of the southern North Atlantic preserve different fossilized stages of the Wilson cycle, representing a unique setting to study the role of pre-existing extensional structures on contractional reactivation and lithospheric rupture during subduction inception. The NW Pacific convergent margins, in the other hand, host several ongoing subduction initiation sites that allow for the study of the birth and evolution of active nascent subduction zones. This project focuses primarily on the study of the contractional deformation that precedes and/or accompanies subduction initiation, and the role of inherited structures on the reactivation of passive margins using qualitative and quantitative constraints derived from active examples in SE Asia and the fossilized reactivated Iberian Atlantic margins coupled with geodynamic models. Our measurements show that the Continent- Ocean Transition localises major tectonic structures and that the basement nature, structure and thickness condition the distribution of tectonic structures and the styles of contractional deformation. In active subduction zones, deformation propagates laterally and leads to a diachronic evolution of subduction initiation and progression that results in the record of different evolutionary stages along-strike. The mapping of major tectonic structures that localise contractional deformation during these successive evolutionary stages provides critical constraints for investigating natural hazards, such as earthquakes and tsunamis.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Subduction initiation is a key turning point in the Wilson cycle. How it unfolds remains a glaring unknown in our understanding of the evolution of the Earth’s oceans and mountain belts. Tectonic inheritance acquired at passive margins imposes a major control on how subduction zones may form and propagate in Atlantic-type oceans. In particular, magma-poor rifted margins seem to share characteristics that may localize compressional deformation and lithospheric rupture. The southern North Atlantic represents a unique natural laboratory to investigate the main factors that control the early stages of passive margin reactivation, prior to the onset of subduction. This project aims to study the role of inherited structures on the reactivation of passive margins using qualitative and quantitative constraints derived from examples along the southern North Atlantic rifted margins, coupled with geodynamic models of subduction initiation. The study region encompasses a number of reactivated magma-poor rifted margins that preserve different stages of the Wilson cycle, including: 1) the pristine Newfoundland margin; 2) an incipient, dormant, subduction zone in the western Bay of Biscay; and 3) an example of passive margin reactivation in Western Iberia. We will first map different styles and stages of margin reactivation along the studied Atlantic margins. Direct observations will be used to constrain kinematic reconstructions of the spatial and temporal evolution of these margins from rift to drift to reactivation. The identified key parameters that control reactivation will then be tested and explored using numerical geodynamic models. The action will involve an experienced international and multi-disciplinary team that will work closely together to further enhance our understanding of the Earth system. This opportunity will also provide the candidate with a new set of opportunities to boost her career and to develop strong coordination and leadership skills.
Original text from CORDIS.
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Data: CORDIS, © European Union