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Quaternary sedimentation and active faulting along the Ecuadorian shelf: preliminary results of the ATACAMES Cruise (2012)

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Abstract

Selected high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles and multibeam bathymetry acquired along the convergent Ecuador margin during the ATACAMES cruise on onboard the R/V L’Atalante (Jan.15–Feb.18, 2012) allow a preliminary evaluation of the neotectonic development and stratigraphic evolution of the margin based on the sismo-stratigraphic analysis of Quaternary sediment preserved on the margin shelf and upper slope. We present three major preliminary results. (1) The evolution of the Esmeraldas, Guayaquil and Santa Elena canyons. The head of the Esmeraldas canyon is the location of a continuous significant sediment transport. The Guayaquil canyon shows several episodes of deposition and incision. Aggrading sedimentation pattern in the canyon records several changes in relative sea-level. The subsidence of the Gulf of Guayaquil probably contributes to the good preservation of the canyon filling stages. The Santa Elena canyon is controlled by a SW–NE trending normal fault. (2) Variations of sediment accumulation and relative vertical motions are shown along-strike the shelf edge. Offshore the uplifted Manta peninsula, a pronounced subsidence of the shelf edge is documented by sedimentary clinoforms that have deposited in a morphological reentrant, and have migrated upslope testifying of a local subsidence meanwhile the adjacent La Plata Island area underwent uplift. In the Esmeraldas canyon area, a local uplift of the shelf is documented. (3) Two neotectonic fault systems with a possible transcurrent component are imaged across the shelf edge and upper margin slope offshore Jama, and Cape Galera. This possible transcurrent motion could be related to the reactivation of ancient faults of the upper plate by the subduction. These preliminary results indicate that the ATACAMES data set has a strong potential to evaluate the spatial and temporal contribution of tectonic and climate changes on the structural development and stratigraphic evolution of the Ecuador continental margin.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the crew of R/V L’Atalante and GENAVIR. This work was supported by Institut National des Sciences de l’Univers du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (INSU). Thanks to Institut de la Recherche et du Développement (IRD), the Laboratoire Mixte International “Séismes et Volcans” (LMI) and to the Instituto Oceanográfico de la Armada (INOCAR). This work was partially sponsored by the Prometeo Project of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the Republic of Ecuador (SENESCYT). We thank the two anonymous reviewers for their improvements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France

    F. Michaud & M. J. Hernández

  2. Geoazur, IRD-CNRS-OCA, Université de Nice-Sophia-Antipolis, 250 Avenue Albert Einstein, 06560, Valbonne/Sophia Antipolis, France

    F. Michaud, J. Y. Collot, C. Martillo, M. J. Hernández, L. Schenini, A. Dano & G. Ponce

  3. Géosciences Rennes, CNRS, Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042, Rennes cedex, France

    J. N. Proust, H. Pouderoux, C. Martillo & M. Gonzalez

  4. Investigador Prometeo, Instituto Geofísico, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Ladrón de Guevara E11-253, Ap. 2759, Quito, Ecuador

    J. Y. Collot

  5. Université des Antilles et de la Guyane, Campus de Fouillole, 97159, Pointe à Pitre cedex, Guadeloupe, France

    J. F. Lebrun & L. De Min

  6. Géosystèmes, Université Lille 1, Avenue Paul Langevin, 59655, Villeneuve d’Ascq cedex, France

    C. Witt

  7. Domaines Océaniques, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Place Copernic, 29280, Plouzané, France

    G. Ratzov

  8. Departamento de Geologia, Escuela Politecnica del Litoral, km 30.5 Vía Perimetral Campus “Gustavo Galindo”, Guayaquil, Ecuador

    C. Martillo, G. Loayza & G. Ponce

  9. Departamento de Geologia, Escuela Politecnica Nacional, Ladrón de Guevara E11 – 253, Quito, Ecuador

    M. J. Hernández & L. Penafiel

  10. Instituto Oceanografica de la Armada de Ecuador (INOCAR), Avenida 25 de Julio via Puerto Maritimo, Base Naval Sur, Guayaquil, Ecuador

    M. Gonzalez, G. Ponce & M. Calderon

  11. Petroamazonas, Naciones Unidas E-7-95 y los Shyris, Quito, Ecuador

    D. Barba & A. Urresta

Authors
  1. F. Michaud
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  2. J. N. Proust
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  3. J. Y. Collot
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  4. J. F. Lebrun
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  5. C. Witt
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  6. G. Ratzov
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  7. H. Pouderoux
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  8. C. Martillo
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  9. M. J. Hernández
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  10. G. Loayza
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  11. L. Penafiel
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  12. L. Schenini
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  13. A. Dano
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  14. M. Gonzalez
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  15. D. Barba
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  16. L. De Min
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  17. G. Ponce
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  18. A. Urresta
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  19. M. Calderon
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Correspondence to F. Michaud.

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Michaud, F., Proust, J.N., Collot, J.Y. et al. Quaternary sedimentation and active faulting along the Ecuadorian shelf: preliminary results of the ATACAMES Cruise (2012). Mar Geophys Res 36, 81–98 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-014-9231-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-014-9231-y

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