The Iceland Plate Boundary Zone: Propagating Rifts, Migrating Transforms, and Rift‐Parallel Strike‐Slip Faults
The Iceland Plate Boundary Zone: Propagating Rifts, Migrating Transforms, and Rift‐Parallel Strike‐Slip Faults
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DOI：
10.1002/2017gc007045
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发表时间：
2017-11
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
J. Karson
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
J. Karson
与大多数中大西洋海脊不同，冰岛的北美/欧亚板块边界位于海平面以上，在那里可以通过空中暴露直接研究岩浆和构造过程。因此，冰岛的地质过程长期以来被认为可能类似于大洋中脊系统水下部分的海底扩张。结合冰岛各地现有的和新的数据，提供了一个关于这一活跃的、主要是地下板块边界的综合视图。宽阔的冰岛板块边界带包括由转换断裂带连接的分段裂谷带。远离冰岛热点的裂谷传播和转换断层迁移，重新安排了板块边界构造，导致了老地壳的广泛变形和与扩张相关的构造的重新激活。裂谷传播导致块体旋转，这些块体被广泛的、平行的裂谷平行走滑断层所容纳。冰岛断裂的几何学和运动学可能对大洋中脊系统中发生裂谷传播和转换迁移的其他地方的扩散过程有影响。
Unlike most of the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge, the North America/Eurasia plate boundary in Iceland lies above sea level where magmatic and tectonic processes can be directly investigated in subaerial exposures. Accordingly, geologic processes in Iceland have long been recognized as possible analogs for seafloor spreading in the submerged parts of the mid‐ocean ridge system. Combining existing and new data from across Iceland provides an integrated view of this active, mostly subaerial plate boundary. The broad Iceland plate boundary zone includes segmented rift zones linked by transform fault zones. Rift propagation and transform fault migration away from the Iceland hotspot rearrange the plate boundary configuration resulting in widespread deformation of older crust and reactivation of spreading‐related structures. Rift propagation results in block rotations that are accommodated by widespread, rift‐parallel, strike‐slip faulting. The geometry and kinematics of faulting in Iceland may have implications for spreading processes elsewhere on the mid‐ocean ridge system where rift propagation and transform migration occur.