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Geosciences
Special Issues
Structural, Tectonic, and Magmatic Evolution of Rifted Continental Margins
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Structural, Tectonic, and Magmatic Evolution of Rifted Continental Margins

A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263). This special issue belongs to the section "Structural Geology and Tectonics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2020) | Viewed by 14653

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Christian Schiffer

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden
Interests: geophysics; numerical modeling; geodynamics; lithosphere; plate tectonics; structural inheritance; North Atlantic; Arctic
Dr. Alexander Peace

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
School of Geography and Earth Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
Interests: tectonics; structural geology; magmatism; petroleum geology; sedimentary basins; seismic interpretation and potential-field studies
Dr. Scott Jess

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Interests: thermochronology; geochronology; thermal modelling; tectonic; geomorphoology; passive margins; rifting; North Atlantic

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

More than half of the Earth’s continental margins are classified as passive, rifted continental margins. These formed by rifting and eventual continental breakup, leaving a complex and variable transition from continental to oceanic lithosphere.

Although rifted continental margins have been studied for decades, many aspects of their evolution are inconclusively studied and poorly constrained, with questions surrounding, for example, the role of magmatism, continent–ocean boundaries/transitions, onshore histories, and structural inheritance still unanswered.

We invite contributions studying rifted margins covering a wide range of scales and methods. This may include but is not limited to studies of the lithosphere–asthenosphere system, crust and lithosphere structure and deformation, sedimentary basins, surface processes, landscape evolution, vertical motions, intraplate deformation, as well as rift-related magmatism at all depths. Methods and approaches may include geomorphology, geochronological and geothermometrical techniques, sedimentology and stratigraphy, rock mechanics, structural geology, geophysics, geochemistry, petrology, and numerical modeling across the scales. We also welcome studies of rifted margins bordering marine basins with transitional or unknown lithospheric affinity (e.g., Baffin Bay, Canada Basin, Black Sea), “proto-oceanic” basins (e.g., the Northern Red Sea), and failed rifts (e.g., the North Sea), as well as onshore analogue studies of rifted margins (e.g., Alpine Tethys, Iapetus, Rheic margins).

Dr. Christian Schiffer
Dr. Alexander Peace
Dr. Scott Jess
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Breakup
  • Rifting
  • Rifted continental margins
  • Evolution
  • Structure
  • Magmatism
  • Structural inheritance
  • Cross-scale
  • Cross-disciplinary research

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2229 KiB  
Article
Exploring Best Practices in Geoscience Education: Adapting a Video/Animation on Continental Rifting for Upper-Division Students to a Lower-Division Audience
by Siloa Willis, Robert J. Stern, Jeffrey Ryan and Christy Bebeau
Geosciences 2021, 11(3), 140; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11030140 - 18 Mar 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2122
Abstract
Well-crafted and scientifically accurate videos and animations can be effective ways to teach dynamic Earth processes such as continental rifting, both in live course offerings as well as in online settings. However, a quick search of the internet reveals too few high-quality videos/animations [...] Read more.
Well-crafted and scientifically accurate videos and animations can be effective ways to teach dynamic Earth processes such as continental rifting, both in live course offerings as well as in online settings. However, a quick search of the internet reveals too few high-quality videos/animations describing deep Earth processes. We have modified a hybrid 10.5 min video/animation about continental rifting and the formation of new oceans and passive continental margins created for an upper-division geology audience, retailoring it for a lower-division geology audience. A key challenge in successfully modifying such resources is aligning the cognitive load that the video/animation imposes on students, in part related to the technical geoscientific jargon used in explaining such phenomena, with that which they encounter on these topics in their textbooks and classrooms. We used expert feedback obtained at a 2019 GeoPRISMS (Geodynamic Processes at Rifting and Subducting Margins) workshop in San Antonio to ensure the accuracy of the science content of the upper-division video. We followed this with a review of the terminology and language used in the video/animation, seeking to align the video narrative with the technical language used in introductory geology offerings, which we based on examining five current introductory geology textbooks and feedback from students in introductory geoscience courses. The revised introductory-level video/animation was piloted in an online introductory course, where it provided an improved conceptual understanding of the related processes of continental rifting, opening new oceans, and formation of passive continental margins. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structural, Tectonic, and Magmatic Evolution of Rifted Continental Margins)
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18 pages, 2103 KiB  
Article
Evidence of Lithospheric Boudinage in the Grand Banks of Newfoundland from Geophysical Observations
by Malcolm D. J. MacDougall, Alexander Braun and Georgia Fotopoulos
Geosciences 2021, 11(2), 55; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11020055 - 28 Jan 2021
Viewed by 2671
Abstract
The evolution of the passive margin off the coast of Eastern Canada has been characterized by a series of rifting episodes which caused widespread extension of the lithosphere and associated structural anomalies, some with the potential to be classified as a result of [...] Read more.
The evolution of the passive margin off the coast of Eastern Canada has been characterized by a series of rifting episodes which caused widespread extension of the lithosphere and associated structural anomalies, some with the potential to be classified as a result of lithospheric boudinage. Crustal thinning of competent layers is often apparent in seismic sections, and deeper Moho undulations may appear as repeating elongated anomalies in gravity and magnetic surveys. By comparing the similar evolutions of the Grand Banks and the Norwegian Lofoten-Vesterålen passive margins, it is reasonable to explore the potential of the same structures being present. This investigation supplements our knowledge of analogous examples in the Norwegian Margin and the South China Sea with a thorough investigation of seismic, gravity and magnetic signatures, to determine that boudinage structures are evident in the context of the Grand Banks. Through analysis of geophysical data (including seismic, gravity and magnetic observations), a multi-stage boudinage mechanism is proposed, which is characterized by an upper crust short-wavelength deformation ranging from approximately 20–80 km and a lower crust long-wavelength deformation exceeding 200 km in length. In addition, the boudinage mechanism caused slightly different structures which are apparent in the block geometry and layeredness. Based on these results, there are indications that boudinage wavelength increases with each successive rifting phase, with geometry changing from domino style to a more shearband/symmetrical style as the scale of deformation is increased to include the entire lithosphere. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structural, Tectonic, and Magmatic Evolution of Rifted Continental Margins)
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27 pages, 7882 KiB  
Article
The Rockall and the Orphan Basins of the Southern North Atlantic Ocean: Determining Continuous Basins across Conjugate Margins
by Heide MacMahon, J. Kim Welford, Larry Sandoval and Alexander L. Peace
Geosciences 2020, 10(5), 178; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10050178 - 13 May 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3427
Abstract
Reconstructions of the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean generally result in the Orphan Basin, offshore Newfoundland, Canada, lying approximately conjugate to the rift basins on the Irish Atlantic margin at the onset of seafloor spreading toward the end of the Early Cretaceous. [...] Read more.
Reconstructions of the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean generally result in the Orphan Basin, offshore Newfoundland, Canada, lying approximately conjugate to the rift basins on the Irish Atlantic margin at the onset of seafloor spreading toward the end of the Early Cretaceous. Most of these plate reconstructions have involved rigid plates with plate motions based solely on the interpretation of oceanic magnetic anomalies. In particular, these reconstructions often show the Rockall Basin, west of Ireland, forming a continuous Mesozoic basin with the West Orphan Basin, offshore Newfoundland. However, more recent plate reconstructions involving deformable plates have called this conjugate relationship into question. The goal of this study is to investigate the validity of this potentially continuous basin system by reconstructing and restoring present-day seismically-constrained geological models both spatially and temporally back to their original configurations pre-rift. By comparing the reconstructions in terms of sedimentary package thicknesses and crustal thicknesses in 3D, using both rigid and deformable plate reconstructions to orient the reconstructed models, we are able to test different basin connectivity scenarios using a multidisciplinary approach. Our analysis provides subsurface geophysical support for the hypothesis that the Rockall Basin was originally conjugate to and continuous with the East Orphan Basin during Jurassic rifting, later linking to the West Orphan Basin as rifting evolved during the Early Cretaceous. This complex basin evolution example highlights the need for using 3D rifting mechanism models to properly understand the fundamental driving forces during rifting and has significant implications for assessing basin prospectivity across conjugate margin pairs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structural, Tectonic, and Magmatic Evolution of Rifted Continental Margins)
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35 pages, 11935 KiB  
Article
Geochemistry of Deccan Tholeiite Flows and Dykes of Elephanta Island: Insights into the Stratigraphy and Structure of the Panvel Flexure Zone, Western Indian Rifted Margin
by Vanit Patel, Hetu Sheth, Ciro Cucciniello, Gopal W. Joshi, Wencke Wegner, Hrishikesh Samant, Bibhas Sen and Christian Koeberl
Geosciences 2020, 10(4), 118; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10040118 - 26 Mar 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5543
Abstract
Elephanta Island near Mumbai is an important area for understanding the stratigraphic and structural framework of the Deccan flood basalt province in the tectonically disturbed Panvel flexure zone on the western Indian rifted margin. Elephanta exposes a west-dipping, 66–65 Ma sequence of tholeiitic [...] Read more.
Elephanta Island near Mumbai is an important area for understanding the stratigraphic and structural framework of the Deccan flood basalt province in the tectonically disturbed Panvel flexure zone on the western Indian rifted margin. Elephanta exposes a west-dipping, 66–65 Ma sequence of tholeiitic lava flows and dykes. Geochemical correlations with the thick, horizontal, 66–65 Ma Western Ghats sequence to the east show that lava flows of the Khandala and Ambenali formations are present at Elephanta, with two lava flows probably being locally derived. The Elephanta tholeiites have experienced crystal fractionation and accumulation, particularly of olivine. They have εNd(t) ranging from +5.4 to −7.9 and (87Sr/86Sr)t from 0.70391 to 0.70784, with most tholeiites little contaminated by continental lithosphere, probably lower crust. Field and geochemical data indicate a normal fault along the central part of Elephanta with a 220 m downthrow, consistent with a domino-type block-faulted structure of Elephanta, and the surrounding area as previously known. Seventeen of the 20 analyzed Elephanta intrusions, striking ~N–S, belong to the Coastal dyke swarm of the western Deccan province. Several of these are probable feeders to the Ambenali Formation in the Western Ghats sequence, requiring reconsideration of the current view that the voluminous Wai Subgroup lavas of the Western Ghats were erupted without organized crustal extension. East–west-directed extensional strain was already active at 66–65 Ma along this future (62.5 Ma) rifted continental margin. A young (~62 Ma) ankaramite dyke on Elephanta Island is a probable feeder to the Powai ankaramite flow in the 62.5 Ma Mumbai sequence 20 km to the northwest. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structural, Tectonic, and Magmatic Evolution of Rifted Continental Margins)
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