Preservation of contrasting geothermal gradients across the Caribbean-North America plate boundary (Motagua Fault, Guatemala)

Autor: Simon-Labric, T., Brocard, G. Y., Teyssier, C., Van Der Beek, P.A., Fellin, M.G., Reiners, P.W., Authemayou, Christine
Přispěvatelé: Institut des Sciences de la Terre (ISTerre), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Aménagement et des Réseaux (IFSTTAR)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR219-PRES Université de Grenoble-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences [Philadelphia], University of Pennsylvania, Department of Earth Sciences [Minneapolis], University of Minnesota [Twin Cities] (UMN), University of Minnesota System-University of Minnesota System, Geological Institute [ETH Zürich], Department of Earth Sciences [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - ETH Zürich] (D-ERDW), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich)- Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich), Department of Geosciences [University of Arizona], University of Arizona, Domaines Océaniques (LDO), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers-Institut d'écologie et environnement-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of Pennsylvania [Philadelphia], Department of Geosciences
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2013
Předmět:
Zdroj: Tectonics
Tectonics, 2013, 32, pp.993-1010. ⟨10.1002/tect.20060⟩
Tectonics, American Geophysical Union (AGU), 2013, 32, pp.993-1010. ⟨10.1002/tect.20060⟩
ISSN: 0278-7407
1944-9194
Popis: International audience; Strike-slip plate boundaries juxtapose crustal blocks that may have different geodynamic origins and therefore different thermal structures. Thermo-kinematic modeling of this type of strike-slip plate boundary predicts an asymmetric signature in the low-temperature thermochronologic record across the fault. Age-elevation profiles of zircon (U-Th)/He ages across the Motagua Fault, a 500km long segment of the transform boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates, document a sharp cooling age discontinuity across the fault. This discontinuity could be interpreted as a difference in denudation history on each side of the fault. However, a low-relief Miocene erosional surface extends across the fault; this surface has been uplifted and incised and provides a geomorphic argument against differential denudation across the fault. By integrating magmatic, volcanic, and heat flow data, age-elevation profiles, and thermo-kinematic modeling, we propose that large horizontal displacement along the Motagua Fault has offset a persistent geothermal asymmetry across the fault and explains both the age discontinuities and the age-elevation patterns. This study illustrates how thermochronology can be used to detect large strike-slip displacements and more generally opens new perspectives in understanding the impact of nonuniform thermal structures on thermochronologic results. Key Points: Effect of geothermal asymmetry on the cooling history of a strike-slip fault Coupled approach of thermochronology, geomorphology and numerical modeling.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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