With the increasing size and complexity of geoscientific databases, statistical tools and machine learning algorithms are needed to highlight subtle patterns within dense data clouds and reduce human-related bias in geological mapping. This study presents a new tool that maps structural complexity using circular variance and spherical dispersion in two Archean greenstone belts near Dryden and Timmins

Three-dimensional (3D) pre-stack depth migrated seismic data are used to analyse the geometry and growth of shallow faults associated with tectonic shortening in four (4) prominent thrust anticlines off Nankai, SE Japan. The four thrust anticlines show a trenchward increase in horizontal shortening and deform the seafloor at present. They shortened the overburden strata by 7143 m in the Late Quaternary

Interpretation of reflection seismic profiles, sequential restoration, and physical modelling are presented to understand the kinematics of salt flow and diapirism in the Eastern Persian Gulf, offshore Southern Iran. Salt tectonics in this area result from the overlapping Ediacaran–Early Cambrian Hormuz Salt, which is regionally present, and Oligocene–Early Miocene Fars Salt, which is locally developed

The crust of southern Tibet shows strong azimuthal and radial seismic anisotropies. However, their origin has remained ambiguous. Here we characterized the composition, microstructure, and seismic properties of amphibole-rich deep-crust xenoliths and exhumed rocks from a deep-crust terrane in southern Tibet. The xenoliths show typical magmatic textures and have amphiboles with homogenous chemical composition

The Mai'iu Fault in the Woodlark Rift of southeastern Papua New Guinea is an active north-dipping low-angle normal fault (LANF) that has exhumed the spectacular Suckling-Dayman metamorphic core complex (SDMCC) in its footwall. While its youthful domal geomorphology suggests recent tectonic exhumation of the SDMCC, the cooling and exhumation history of this active metamorphic core complex have not been

The 2017 Wulong earthquake (Ms 5.0) took place in Chongqing, China, causing serious damage to the local infrastructure. However, the mechanism of this earthquake is still unclear. We deployed a 155 km long magnetotelluric (MT) profile with 24 broadband sounding stations across the Wulong earthquake zone. The phase tensor and phase-out-of-quadrant data analysis show that the whole region is mainly characterized

Understanding the role of southeastern Tibetan thrust faults in the development of plateau topography is key to our assessment of the geodynamic processes shaping continental topography. Detailed structural analysis along the ~400 km long Jinhe-Qinghe thrust belt (JQTB) indicates post Late Eocene thrust motion with a minor left-lateral component, inducing ~0.6 to 3.6 km of apparent vertical offset

We performed a suite of experiments aimed at examining the frictional properties of unaltered basalts at conditions considered to be representative of slip at shallow depths in volcano-tectonic environments and in-situ geo-energy basaltic sites. Scientific drilling and field studies on exhumed subsurface faults and fractures analogues suggest that, frictional sliding in basalts can occur in shear zones

Do plumes exist? If so, do plume tails connect hotspots to the core-mantle boundary (CMB), or only to the 660-km discontinuity (between the upper and the lower mantle)? Are they continuous or fragmented? Here, we demonstrate quantitatively that the Hawaiian plume distorts 24-h-period magnetovariational data by providing a continuous electrical connection between the Earth's surface (via the ocean)

A magnetotelluric survey comprising 18 broadband stations disposed along a 450 km-long profile was carried out at the transition between the Chaco-Paraná (CPB) and the Paraná (PB) intracratonic basins in northeastern Argentina. Three-dimensional inversions of the responses show that the CPB and southern PB lithospheres are resistive (~103 Ω m) down to 120 km, but with distinct crustal and upper mantle

The structural analysis of the metamorphic belt and allochthonous terranes, which represent the lower and upper plates of the Eocene subduction/obduction complex of New Caledonia respectively, unravels a multi-step evolution. At subduction inception, the originally N-S trending northern Norfolk/New Caledonia Ridge was moving northward as recorded by sheared lower Eocene dykes of the Peridotite Nappe

The Linxi Basin is situated at the eastern portion of the Tianshan-Solonker suture where the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed and represents the key region to understand the tectonic evolution of the Solonker suture. The Linxi Basin has the best preserved Permian sediments and its formation mechanism is much debated. Two controversial Permian tectonic backgrounds are proposed for this basin, i.e., oceanic-continental

In recent years, salt diapirs have been widely used for gas storing, hazardous waste disposal, mining, and petroleum production. The rate and pattern of active movement in salt structures are crucial to be obtained before planning these industrial utilizations. The central basin of the Iranian plateau represents well-exposed and -preserved diapirs that can be considered as an analog for other salt

The tri-axial testing of rocks under compression is a widely popular measure for the assessment of strength of geological materials in the laboratory. In this regard, mechanical complexities of true tri-axial testing machines impel researchers to opt for simpler conventional tri-axial testing machines. To account for influential factors that affect quality of experimental data, observations derived

Young and tectonically active chains like the Central Apennines (Italy) are featured by high structural complexity as a result of the overprint of subsequent deformational stages, making interpretation of seismotectonics challenging. The Central Apennines are characterized by the stacking of tectono-sedimentary units organized in thrust sheets. However, extensional tectonics is currently affecting

Fracturing and damage around faults related to seismogenesis can enhance hydrothermal fluid percolation, causing mineral precipitation. This study uses hydrothermally sealed microfractures across an ancient exhumed fault to unravel the 3D-spatial distribution of fault damage and related anisotropy in permeability. We studied the fault damage zone of the Jorgillo Fault, a left-lateral strike-slip fault

The Tian Shan mountain ranges in central Asia are one of the largest and most active intracontinental orogenic belts in the world. Its Cenozoic reactivation and deformation manifest the far-field impact of the Indian-Eurasian continental collision. How the collision-induced crustal shortening is accomondated in the Tian Shan region, however, remains debated. Some of the shortening is clearly accommodated

The Main Recent Fault (MRF) is a major active strike-slip fault system at the NE border of the Arabian platform and Central Iran. Both geometry and kinematics of the fault system is rather well known along its central part and at its SE termination, while its possible continuation to the northwest is ambiguous. Moreover, less regard has been paid to possible relationships between this major intracontinental

Two apparent polar wander (APWP) paths for North America (NA) diverge during the Jurassic. The path based on paleomagnetic results from igneous rocks of eastern NA, well-dated Ontario kimberlites, and carbonates and radiolarites of Adria (northern Italy - transformed to NA coordinates) has a large gap at high latitude, which could document rapid plate motion or True Polar Wander. The APWP from coeval

We present crustal scale physical analogue models of multiphase rifting to provide new constraints on the role exerted by faults formed during early extension on structures developed during later episodes of rifting. Our laboratory experiments (sand mixture is used to simulate the upper crust and PDMS-Corundum mixture is used to simulate the lower crust) are inspired by the Turkana depression in the

We present an improved 3-D shear wave velocity image of the uppermost mantle beneath the Bay of Bengal (BoB), the Bengal basin and the adjoining Indian shield to their west. Shear wave velocities were inverted from fundamental mode Rayleigh wave group velocities calculated along 21,600 crisscrossing paths from cross correlation of ambient noise as well earthquake seismograms. This study shows the hitherto

This study presents a detailed analysis of minor seismic sequences recorded in the Amatrice-Norcia area (central Italy) before 2016 when the most important seismic sequence of the last 40 years struck the region with the Mw 6.0 Amatrice and the Mw 6.5 Norcia earthquakes. We observe that, in the four decades before the 2016–2018 Amatrice-Visso-Norcia sequence, the instrumental seismicity rate is low

Taiwan Strait is located between the actively deforming Taiwan Island and stable South China Craton. While strong earthquakes have occurred on the east and west sides of the Taiwan Strait and their seismotectonic are relatively well understood, the earthquake risk and seismogenic structure in the strait still need more investigations. On November 25, 2018, a rare moderately strong earthquake with a

Continental normal fault earthquakes have been reported to have smaller maximum magnitudes (Mmax) than continental earthquakes with other fault geometries. This difference has significant implications for understanding seismic hazards in extensional regions. Using the Global Centroid Moment Tensor (GCMT) catalog, we examine how Mmax varies with fault geometry in continental regions, whether these trends

Receiver function measurements of crustal thickness (H) and Vp/Vs provide important information on the formation and evolution of continental plateaus and rift zones such as the Ethiopian Plateau, the Afar and Main Ethiopian Rifts in northeastern Africa. Unfortunately, the presence of a low-velocity sedimentary layer atop most of the Cenozoic rift basins may lead to strong reverberations that can mask

East-central China has experienced multi-stage evolution among different tectonic units; thus the present geological structures are superimposed in a long history. But it is still unclear how different tectonic processes interact with each other, especially how the subsequent activity affects the previous structures. In this study, we determined new high-resolution P and S wave tomography of the upper

Previously-published tomographic images show low-velocity anomalies (shear velocity up to 5% slow relative to the AK135 Earth model) in the asthenosphere beneath the southeastern margin of North America, including the Northern Appalachian (New England), the Central Appalachian (Virginia), and the Northern Gulf (Texas-Louisiana coast) Anomalies. Travel time anomaly ratios and attenuation indicate that

The deep structure of continental detachment faults remains debated. Thermo-mechanical models generate detachments that either transect the lithosphere or become distributed shear zones in the mid-lower crust, depending on prescribed thermo-rheological conditions. However, these geometries and prescribed conditions remain little constrained by geology-based reconstructions. We present stepwise, balanced

Coseismic changes in slip direction recorded by curved slickenlines on fault surfaces are commonly observed following surface-breaking earthquakes. Such observations represent a dynamic record of seismic slip and may provide a new set of constraints on the evolution of propagating rupture and hence earthquake dynamics. We test this hypothesis by conducting dynamic rupture simulations of the 2011 Mw

Mica-rich rocks (shales, slates, schists) are a major and significant component of the continental crust. They are often characterized by a strong seismic anisotropy, a key factor in the seismic interpretation of the architecture of the continental crust. Roofing slates are a group of natural rocks used in construction that must possess a continuous and undeformed slaty cleavage. This makes roofing

We present an electrical resistivity model obtained from a 2D Magnetotelluric survey across a large sector of the Southern Apennine in the High Agri Valley (HAV), a NW-SE trending intra-mountain basin, with a high seismogenic potential. The intensive hydrocarbon exploitation (Val d'Agri oilfield) makes this area also affected by induced seismicity. In this HAV sector, the injection of salt-water in

Earthquake clustering (grouping in space and time) is a widely observed mode of strain release in the upper crust, although this behavior on individual faults is a departure from classic elastic rebound theory. In this study, we consider factors responsible for a cluster of earthquakes on the Bear River fault zone (BRF), a recently activated, 44-km-long normal fault on the eastern margin of Basin and

The margins of the Tibetan Plateau are the most recent evolving part of the orogen, where distributed fault systems accumulate intraplate crustal deformation induced by the Indo-Asian collision, and many great earthquakes occur. Understanding the paleoearthquake history of the faults along the Tibetan margins will increase our knowledge of the process of outward growth of the Tibetan Plateau, seismic

Magnetotelluric data from 104 new stations in northern Sweden together with previously available MaSca project data are analysed with respect to a hypothesised genetic relation between mineral occurrences and commonly reported deep crustal electrically conductive structures in Precambrian Shield areas. A total of 165 stations from the north-eastern part of the Norrbotten ore province are modelled from

The study of the Cordillera de Domeyko and the Salar de Atacama Basin in northern Chile has been critical to understand the generation of the Andean Cordillera and the migration of the deformation front eastwards. However, the relation between the uplift of the range, its temporal pattern, and the formation of the Preandean Depression have not been fully understood. In this article, we forward modeled

The presence of weak phyllosilicates in mature carbonate fault zones has been invoked to explain weak faults. However, the relation between frictional strength, fault stability, mineralogical composition, and fabric of fault gouge, composed of strong and weak minerals, is poorly constrained. We used a biaxial apparatus to systematically shear different mixtures of shale (68% clay, 23% quartz and 4%

The Kenting Plateau is characterized by unusual low relief surfaces that straddle the topographic crest of the northern Manila accretionary prism off southern Taiwan at 400–700 m water depth. Multibeam bathymetric data, reflection seismic data, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) data, surface grab samples, and sediment cores were collected in and around the Plateau to identify evidence of erosion

The Qilian Shan, located in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, has been continuously extending to the foreland since the late Cenozoic, resulting in the deformation of the Hexi Corridor Basins. Five terraces of the Hongshui River are faulted in the southern Zhangye Basin, a sub-basin of the Hexi Corridor, documenting the tectonic history of the Minle Fault since the late Quaternary. In this study, a

In 2016–2017, a destructive sequence of earthquakes affected a wide portion of Central Italy, activating a complex, 80-km long system of SW-dipping normal faults and causing impressive surface faulting and widespread damage. Former studies providing reconstructions of the fault systems activated during this sequence, are mostly based on high-resolution seismological and geodetic data. In this paper

The brittle deformation of internal zones of the Rif chain, corresponding to the southern margin of the West Alboran Basin, is not or poorly dated because of the lack of stratigraphic constraints. We provide for the first time a direct dating of brittle deformation of internal zones of the Rif chain, in the Ceuta peninsula located in the westernmost part of the Gibraltar arc. 40Ar/39Ar illite ages

While the offshore Irish Atlantic margin and related rift basins have been intensively studied for several decades, the Porcupine Bank, straddling between the well-studied Porcupine and Rockall basins, is a poorly understood region due to lacking sufficient geophysical data coverage. In this study, ten newly acquired long-offset multichannel seismic profiles extending across the western Porcupine Bank

The northern Adamello batholith (European Southern Alps) is crosscut by E-W trending pseudotachylyte-bearing paleoseismic fault zones composed of multiple subparallel fault strands. The main faults are the Gole Strette Fault Zone (GSFZ), here discussed in detail, and the Gole Larghe Fault Zone (GLFZ). The western ending of the GSFZ intersects the propagation of the Gallinera Thrust, a regional structure

It is well known that the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt resulted from the northward continental subduction of the South China Block (SCB) beneath the North China Block (NCB) during the Triassic. Correlating the deformation events recorded in the subducted and overriding plates is essential to understand its tectonic evolution, but related deformation is poorly documented in the overriding plate. In this

Six destructive earthquakes occurred in the Dongpu Sag and surrounding regions from 1493 to 1983, and more recent earthquakes have also been concentrated in these areas. Relocation results show two active earthquake clusters in and around Dongpu Sag, one in the north and one in the south. However, the dynamic mechanisms leading to these earthquake clusters have not previously been established. In this

Active mountain belts in monsoonal climates are characterized by rapid denudation due to erosion and mass wasting processes. In such areas, unstable topography caused by local geological conditions combined with extreme rainfall or earthquakes impact on indigenous people, especially through involuntary settlement migration. Anthropological surveys in southern Taiwan show that the oral traditions of

The Kumaon Himalaya lies in the central seismic gap and therefore bears the potential to host a great Himalayan earthquake. The seismicity and seismotectonics of the Kumaon Himalaya and the adjacent region have been investigated based on local earthquake data recorded at 18 seismological stations. The seismically active zone of the eastern segment of the Kumaon Himalaya deviates from the usual pattern

The Tanlu fault is the largest strike-slip fault in eastern China. It has experienced multiple episodes of tectonic activity suggested mostly by near-surface geological analysis. However, little evidence comes from deformation at different depths in the crust. This study presents a three-dimensional (3-D) high-resolution upper crustal azimuthally anisotropic model of shear-wave velocity beneath the

The Qinling-Dabie orogenic belt was formed during the collision between the North China Craton and the Yangtze Block. A large volume of the high-pressure (HP) and ultra-high-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks are exposed in the eastern Dabie Mountains. In order to better understand the collision processes and the exhumation mechanism of the HP/UHP rocks, we process ambient noise data recorded at stations

Segment lengths along major strike-slip faults exhibit a size dependency related to the brittle crust thickness. These segments result in the formation of the localized “P-shear” deformation crossing and connecting the initial Riedels structures (i.e. en-echelon fault structures) which formed during the genesis stage of the fault zone. Mechanical models show that at all scales, the geometrical characteristics

The effects of sediments on supershear rupture have been discussed. Two sediment models with different media properties have opposite effects on supershear rupture. The rupture accelerates into supershear more easily if the sediment is thin in the model with a relatively low wave velocity. In contrast, the supershear rupture transition occurs more easily if the sediment is thick in the model with a

Laponite® is a synthetic clay that, depending on concentration, temperature and curing time, forms a clear, transparent thixotropic fluid or brittle visco-elasto-plastic gel when mixed with water. Here we present the results of rheological and mechanical testing of gel-forming Laponite RD (LRD) to evaluate its suitability as a rock analogue in laboratory analogue experiments. Rheological tests of 2–4 wt%