Journal article
Reactivation of ancient Antarctic rift zones by intraplate seismicity
Nature geoscience, v 11(7), pp 515-519
01 Jul 2018
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Buried deep beneath the Antarctic polar ice sheet, the geological structure and tectonic activity of East Antarctica have long remained unknown. The apparent lack of tectonic seismicity was thought to be anomalous relative to other continental interiors and has been attributed to a lack of intraplate stress due to the surrounding spreading ridges and low absolute plate velocity or to the weight of ice sheets increasing the normal stress. Here we report 27 intraplate tectonic earthquakes detected by the AGAP/GAMSEIS seismic array during 2009 in the interior of East Antarctica, which represents locally recorded seismicity in the region. The earthquakes are primarily extensional and located at shallow to mid-crustal depths beneath sedimentary basins aligned linearly adjacent to the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains. The basins may be part of an ancient continental rift system, which provides a zone of pre-existing tectonic weakness that focuses the seismicity. These events, when combined with events in published catalogues of Antarctic seismicity, indicate levels of seismicity in East Antarctica of the same order of magnitude as that of other stable cratons, such as the Canadian Shield.
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Details
- Title
- Reactivation of ancient Antarctic rift zones by intraplate seismicity
- Creators
- Amanda C. Lough - Drexel UniversityDouglas A. Wiens - Washington University in St. LouisAndrew Nyblade - Pennsylvania State University
- Publication Details
- Nature geoscience, v 11(7), pp 515-519
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Number of pages
- 6
- Grant note
- ANT-0537597; ANT-0537371; ANT-0838934; ANT-0838973; PLR-1246712 / US National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF) DOE National Nuclear Security Administration; National Nuclear Security Administration; United States Department of Energy (DOE) NSF Office of Polar Programs; National Science Foundation (NSF) EAR-1063471 / NSF; National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES)
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000438794800015
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85047990553
- Other Identifier
- 991019168635304721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Geosciences, Multidisciplinary