Flexure and mechanical behavior of cratonic lithosphere: Gravity models of the East African and Baikal rifts

Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth

Volumn 105, Issue B8, 2000, Pages 19151-19162

  Petit, Carole ^a,c   Ebinger, Cynthia ^b  

^a CNRS   (France)

^b UNIVERSITY OF LONDON   (United Kingdom)

^c LABORATOIRE D OCÉANOGRAPHIE DE VILLEFRANCHE   (France)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

GRAVITY FIELD; LITHOSPHERIC STRUCTURE; RIFT ZONE;

AFRICA; BAIKAL RIFT; EAST AFRICAN RIFT; RUSSIAN FEDERATION;

EID: 0034632588     PISSN: 21699313     EISSN: 21699356     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1029/2000jb900101     Document Type: Article

References (81)

1. Agar, S.M., and K.D. Klitgord, Rift flank segmentation, basin initiation and propagation: A neotectonic example from Lake Baikal, J. Geol. Soc. London. 152, 849-860, 1995.
2. Bassi, G., Relative importance of strain rate and rheology for the mode of continental extension, Geophys. J. Int., 122, 195-210, 1995.
3. Bechtel, T.D., D.W. Forsyth, and C.J. Swain, Isostatic compensation around the East African rift, Kenya, Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc., 90, 445-465, 1987.
4. Bechtel, T., D. Forsyth, V. Sharpton, and R. Grieve, Variations in effective elastic thickness of the North American lithosphere, Nature, 343, 636-638, 1990.
5. Bilham, R., R. Bendick, K. Larson, J. Braun, S. Tesfaye, P. Mohr, and L. Asfaw, Secular and tidal strain across the Ethiopian rift, Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 2789-2792, 1999.
6. Birt, C., P. K. Maguire, M. A. Khan, H. Thybo, G. Keller, and J. Patel, The influence of pre-existing structures on the evolution of the southern Kenya rift valley: Evidence from seismic and gravity studies, Tectonophysics, 278, 211-242, 1997.
7. Buck, R., L. Lavier, and A. Poliakov, How to make a rift wide, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London Ser. A, 357, 671-693, 1999.
8. Burov, E. B., and S. Cloetingh, Erosion and rift dynamics: New thermomechanical aspects of post-rift evolution of extensional basins, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 150, 7-26, 1997.
9. e) of continental lithosphere: What does it really mean ?, J. Geophys. Res., 100, 3905-3927, 1995.
10. Burov, E.B., F. Houdry, M. Diament, and J. Deverchère, A broken plate beneath the North Baikal rift zone revealed by gravity modelling, Geophys. Res. Lett., 21, 129-132, 1994.
11. Burov, E.B., C. Jaupart, and J.-C. Mareschal, Large-scale crustal heterogeneities and lithospheric strength in cratons, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 164, 205-219, 1998.
12. Byerlee, J. D., Friction of rocks, Pure Appl. Geophys., 116, 615-626, 1978.
13. Calais, E., O. Lesne, J. Déverchère, V. Sankov, A. Lukhnev, A. Miroshnichenko, A. Buddo, K. Levi, V. Zalutzky, and Y. Bashkuev, Crustal deformation in the Baikal rift from GPS measurements, Geophys. Res. Lett., 25, 4003-4006, 1998.
14. Camelbeeck, T., and M.D. Iranga, Deep crustal earthquakes and active faults along the Rukwa trough, eastern Africa, Geophys. J. Int., 124, 612-630, 1996.
15. Chesley, J., R. Rudnick, and C-T. Lee, Re-Os systematics of mantle xenoliths from the East African rift: Age, structure, and history of the Tanzanian craton, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 63, 1203-1217, 1999.
16. Chu, D., and R. Gordon, Evidence for motion between Nubia and Somalia along the southwest Indian ridge, Nature, 398, 64-67, 1999.
17. Cloetingh, S., and E.B. Burov, Thermomechanical structure of European continental lithosphere: Constraints from rheological profiles and EET estimates, Geophys. J. Int., 124, 695-723, 1996.
18. Delvaux, D., A. Melnikov, and V. Ermikov, Paleostress reconstruction and geodynamics of the Baikal region, central Asia, part I, Paleozoic and Mesozoic pre-rift evolution, Tectonophysics, 252, 61-101, 1995.
19. Delvaux, D., R. Moeys, G. Stapel, C. Petit, K. Levi, A. Miroshnichenko, V. Ruzhich, and V. Sankov, Paleostress reconstruction and geodynamics of the Baikal region, central Asia, part II, Cenozoic tectonic stress and fault kinematics, Tectonophysics, 282, 1-38, 1997.
20. Déverchère, J., F. Houdry, M. Diament, N.V. Solonenko, and A.V. Solonenko, Evidence for a seismogenic upper mantle and lower crust in the Baikal rift, Geophys. Res. Lett., 18, 1099-1102, 1991.
21. Déverchère, J., F. Houdry, N.V. Solonenko, A.V. Solonenko, and V.A. Sankov, Seismicity, active faults and stress field of the north Muya region, Baikal rift: New insights on the rheology of extended continental lithosphere, J. Geophys. Res., 98, 19,895-19,912, 1993.
22. Ebinger, C.J., and N.H. Sleep, Cenozoic magmatism throughout east Africa resulting from impact of a single plume, Nature, 395, 788-791, 1998.
23. Ebinger, C.J., T.D. Bechtel, D.W. Forsyth, and C.O. Bowin, Effective elastic plate thickness beneath the East African and Afar plateaus and dynamic compensation of the uplifts, J. Geophys. Res., 94, 2893-2901, 1989.
24. Ebinger, C.J., G.D. Karner, and J.K. Weissel, Mechanical strength of extended continental lithosphere: Constraints from the western rift system. East Africa, Tectonics, 10, 1239-1256, 1991.
25. Ebinger, C.J., Y. Poudjom Djomani, E. Mbede, A. Foster, and J.B. Dawson, Rifting archean lithosphere: The Eyasi-Manyara-Natron rifts, East Africa, J. Geol. Soc. London, 154, 947-960, 1997.
26. Ebinger, C.J., J.A. Jackson, A.N. Foster, and N.J. Hayward, Extensional basin geometry and the elastic lithosphere, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A., 357, 741-765, 1999.
27. Fadaie, K., and G. Ranalli, Rheology of the lithosphere in the East African rift system, Geophys. J. Int., 102, 445-453, 1990.
28. Forsyth, D.W., Subsurface loading and estimates of the flexural rigidity of continental lithosphere, J. Geophys. Res., 90, 12,623-12,632, 1985.
29. Foster, A.N., and J.A. Jackson, Source priorities of large African earthquakes: Implications for crustal rheology and regional kinematics, Geophys. J. Int., 134, 422-448, 1998.
30. Foster, A.N., C.J. Ebinger, E. Mbede, and D. Rex, Tectonic development of the northern Tanzanian sector of the East African rift system, J. Geol. Soc. London, 154, 689-700, 1997.
31. Fouch, M.J., Fischer, K.M., Parmentier, E.M., Wysession, M.E., and Clarke, T.J., Shear wave splitting, continental keels, and patterns of mantle flow, J. Geophys. Res., 105, 6255-6275, 2000.
32. Gao, S., P.M. Davis, H. Liu, P.D. Slack, Y.A. Zorin, N.A. Logatchev, M.G. Kogan, P.D. Burkholder, and R.P. Meyer, Asymmetric upwarp of the asthenosphere beneath the Baikal rift zone, Siberia, J. Geophys. Res., 99, 15,319-15,330, 1994.
33. Goetze, C., and B. Evans, Stress and temperature in the bending lithosphere as constrained by experimental rock mechanics, Geophys. J. R., Astron. Soc., 59, 463-478, 1978.
34. Grand, S., R. van der Hilst, and S. Widiyantoro, Global seismic tomography: A snapshot of convection in the Earth, G. S. A. Today, 7, 1-7, 1997.
35. th International Kimberlite Conference Proceedings Volume, Spec. Publ., vol 92/A, edited by H.A. Meyer and O.H. Leonardos, 145-147, Co. De Pasquisa de Recursos Miner., Brasilia, 1994.
36. Hartley, R.W., and P.A. Allen, Interior basins of Africa: Relation to continental breakup and role of mantle convection, Basin Res., 6, 95-113, 1994.
37. Hopper, J.R., and W.R. Buck, The effect of lower crustal flow on continental extension and passive margin formation, J. Geophys. Res., 101, 20,175-20,194, 1996.
38. Houdry, F., Mécanismes de l'extension continentale dans le rift Nord-Baïkal, Sibérie: Contraintes des données d'imagerie SPOT, de terrain, de sismologie et de gravimétrie, Ph.D thesis, 350 pp., Univ. Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris VI, Paris, 1994.
39. Hutchinson, D.R., A.J. Golmshtok, L.P. Zonenshain, T.C. Moore, C.A. Scholz, and K.D. Klitgord, Depositionnal and tectonic framework of the rift basins of Lake Baikal from multichannel seismic data, Geology, 20, 589-592, 1992.
40. Ionov, D.A., S.Y. O'Reilly, and I.V. Ashchepkov, Feldspar-bearing lherzolite xenoliths in alkalibasalts from Hamar-Daban, southern Baikal region, Russia, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 122, 174-190, 1995.
41. Jackson, J.A., and T. Blenkinsop, The Bilila-Mtakataka fault in Malawi: An active, 100 km long normal fault segment in thick seismogenic crust. Tectonics, 16, 137-150, 1997.
42. Keller, G.R., L.W. Braile, P.M. Davis, R.P. Meyer, W.D. Mooney, and the KRISP Working Group, Kenya Rift International Seismic Project 1989-1990 Experiment, Eos Trans. AGU, 73, 349-351, 1992.
43. Kirby, S.H., and A.K. Kronenberg, Rheology of the lithosphere: Selected topics, Rev. Geophys., 25, 1219-1244, 1987.
44. Komba, K., Application of gravity and aeromagnetic methods to the study of sediment thickness over Karoo basins, SE Tanzania, M.Sc. thesis, Univ. of Leeds, Leeds, England, 1996.
45. Kruse, S.E., J.L. Zhengrong, D.F. Naar, and R.A. Duncan, Effective elastic thickness of the lithosphere along the Easter seamount chain, J. Geophys. Res., 102, 27,305-27,317, 1997.
46. Krylov, S.V., and B.P. Mishenkin, Deep structure of the Baikal region from seismic data, Proc. Int. Geol. Congr. Geophysics 27th, 144-149, 1984.
47. Kusznir, N., A. Roberts, and C. Morley, Forward and reverse models of rift basin formation, in Hydrocarbon Habitat in Rift Basins, edited by J.J. Lambiase, Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ., 80, 33-56, 1995.
48. Last, R., A. Nyblade, C. Langston, and T. Owens, Crustal structure of the East African plateau from receiver functions and Rayleigh wave phase velocities, J. Geophys. Res., 102, 24,469-24,483, 1997.
49. Lithgow-Bertelloni, C., and P. Silver, Dynamic topography, plate driving forces, and the African superswell, Nature, 395, 269-272, 1998.
50. Logatchev, N.A., and Y.A. Zorin, Baikal rift zone: Structure and geodynamics, Tectonophysics, 208, 273-286, 1992.
51. Logatchev, N.A., Y.A. Zorin, and V.A. Rogozhina, Baikal rift: Active or passive? Comparison of the Baikal and Kenya rift zones, Tectonophysics, 94, 223-240, 1983.
52. Lowry, A.R., and R.B. Smith, Flexural rigidity of the Basin and Range-Colorado Plateau-Rocky Mountains transition from coherence analysis of gravity and topography, J. Geophys. Res., 99, 20,123-20,140, 1994.
53. Lysak, S.V., Heat flow variations in continental rifts, Tectonophysics, 208, 309-323, 1992.
54. Macario, A., A. Maliverno, and W.F. Haxby, On the robustness of elastic thickness estimates obtained using the coherence method, J. Geophys. Res., 100, 15,163-15,172, 1995.
55. McKenzie, D., and D. Fairhead, Estimates of the effective elastic thickness of the continental lithosphere from Bouguer and free air gravity anomalies, J. Geophys. Res., 102, 27,523-27,552, 1997.
56. McNutt, M., and M. Kogan, Isostasy in the USSR, II, Interpretation of admittance data, in The Composition, Structure, and Dynamics of the Lithosphere-Asthenosphere System, Geodyn. Ser., Vol 16, edited by K. Froideaux, pp. 309-327, Geodyn. Series, A. G. U., Washington D. C., 1987.
57. Melnikov, A.I., A.M. Mazukabzov, E.V. Sklyarov, and E.P. Vasiliev, Baikal rift basement: structure and tectonic evolution, Bull. Centr. Rech. Explor. Prod. Elf Aquitaine, 18, 99-122, 1994.
58. Noble, D., D. Foster, and A. Gleadow, The post-Pan-African thermal and extensional history of crystalline basement rocks in eastern Tanzania, Tectonophysics, 275, 331-350, 1997.
59. Nyblade, A.A., and C.A. Langston, East African earthquakes below 20 km depth and their implications for crustal structure, Geophys. J. Int., 121, 49-62, 1995.
60. Nyblade, A., C. Birt, C. Langston, T. Owens, and R. Last, Seismic experiment reveals rifting of craton in Tanzania, Eos, Trans AGU, 77, 517-521, 1996.
61. Petit, C., Style of active intraplate deformation from gravity and seismicity data: The Baikal rift, Asia, Terra Nova, 10, 160-169, 1998.
62. Petit, C., J. Déverchère, F. Houdry, V.A. Sankov, V.I. Melnikova, and D. Delvaux, Present-day stress field changes along the Baikal rift and tectonic implications, Tectonics, 15, 1171-1191, 1996.
63. Petit, C., E. Burov, and J. Déverchère, On the structure and mechanical behavior of the extending lithosphere in the Baikal rift from gravity modeling, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 149, 29-42, 1997.
64. Petit, C., I. Koulakov, and J. Déverchère, Velocity structure around the Baikal rift zone from teleseismic and local earthquake traveltimes and geodynamic implications, Tectonophysics, 296, 125-144, 1998.
65. Puzyrev, N.N.E., M.M. Mandelbaum, S.V. Krylov, B.P. Mishenkin, G.V. Petrik and G.V. Krupskaya, Deep structure of the Baikal and other rift zones from seismic data, Tectonophysics, 45, 15-22, 1978.
66. Ranalli, G., Rheology of the Earth, and ed., 413 pp., Chapman and Hall, New York, 1995.
67. Ritsema, J., A. Nyblade, T. Owens, C. Langston, and J. Van Decar, Upper mantle seismic velocity structure beneath Tanzania: Implications for the stability of cratonic roots, J. Geophys. Res., 103, 21,200-21,214, 1998.
68. Ruppel, C., M.G. Kogan, and M.K. McNutt, Implications of new gravity data for Baikal rift zone structure, Geophys. Res. Lett., 20, 1635-1638, 1993.
69. Scholz, C., and J. Contreras, Mechanics of continental rift architecture, Geology, 26, 967-970, 1998.
70. Stewart, J., and A.B. Watts, Spatial variations of flexural rigidity at mountain ranges, J. Geophys. Res., 102, 5327-5352, 1997.
71. Tesha, A., A. Nyblade, G. Keller, D. Doser, Rift localization in suture-thickened crust: Evidence from Bouguer gravity anomalies in northeastern Tanzania, Tectonophysics, 278, 315-328, 1997.
72. Tongue, J., P. Maguire, and P. Burton, An earthquake study in the Lake Baringo basin of the central Kenya rift, Tectonophysics, 236, 151-164, 1994.
73. Upcott, N., R. Mukasa, C. Ebinger, and G. Karner, Along-axis segmentation and isostasy in the western rift, East Africa, J. Geophys. Res., 101, 3247-3268, 1996.
74. van der Beek, P., Flank uplift and topography at the Central Baikal Rift (SE Siberia): A test of kinematic models for continental extension, Tectonics, 16, 122-136, 1997.
75. van der Beek, P., E. Mbede, P. Andriessen, and D. Delvaux, Denudation history of the Malawi and Rukwa rift flanks from apatite fission track thermochronology, J. Afri. Earth Sci., 26, 363-385, 1998.
76. van der Hilst, R., S. Widiyantoro, and E.R. Engdahl, Evidence for deep mantle circulation from global tomography, Nature, 386, 578-584, 1997.
77. Watts, A.B., The effective elastic thickness of the lithosphere and the evolution of foreland basins, Basin Res., 4, 169-178, 1992.
78. Watts, A.B., and J. Stewart, Gravity anomalies and segmentation of the continental margin offshore west Africa, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 156, 239-252, 1998.
79. Weissel, K.J., and G.D. Karner, Flexural uplift of rift flanks due to mechanical unloading of the lithosphere under extension, J. Geophys. Res., 94, 13,919-13,950, 1989.
80. Wheeler, W.H., and J.A. Karson, Structure and kinematics of the Livingstone Mountains border fault zone, Nyasa (Malawi) rift, southern Tanzania, J. Afri. Earth Sci., 8, 393-413, 1989.
81. Zhao, M., C. Langston, A. Nyblade, and T. Owens, Lower crustal rifting in the Rukwa graben, East Africa, Geophys. J. Int., 129, 412-420, 1997.