Abstract
Oceanic crust formed at slow-spreading ridges is currently subducted in only a few places on Earth and the tectonic and seismogenic imprint of the slow-spreading process is poorly understood. Here we present seismic and bathymetric data from the Northeastern Lesser Antilles Subduction Zone where thick sediments enable seismic imaging to greater depths than in the ocean basins. This dataset highlights a pervasive tectonic fabric characterized by closely spaced sequences of convex-up Ridgeward-Dipping Reflectors, which extend down to about 15 km depth with a 15-to-40° angle. We interpret these reflectors as discrete shear planes formed during the early stages of exhumation of magma-poor mantle rocks at an inside corner of a Mid-Atlantic Ridge fracture zone. Closer to the trench, plate bending could have reactivated this tectonic fabric and enabled deep fluid circulation and serpentinization of the basement rocks. This weak serpentinized basement likely explains the very low interplate seismic activity associated with the Barbuda-Anegada margin segment above.
Similar content being viewed by others
Introduction
Oceanic basement formed at slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges (MORs), exhibits remarkable variations in crustal thickness, seismic velocity and tectonic fabric, as previously inferred from bathymetric data1,2,3, paleomagnetic studies4,5 sampling and drilling of outcrops of deep-seated rocks6,7 and numerical modelling8,9. In contrast, few seismic data image this fabric variability at depth10,11,12,13. Poorly sedimented seafloor near MORs causes severe scattering of seismic waves during mapping expeditions, which impedes accurate intra-crustal imaging at depth14. As a result, deciphering the complex variability of oceanic tectonic fabric in seismic images remains challenging.
This variability, from magmatically robust to tectonically dominated segments, depends on the spreading rate and the relative contribution of tectonic extension and magmatic diking to oceanic spreading8,9. At magmatically robust segments, oceanic spreading is mainly taken up by vigorous melt delivery, which leads to typical velocity-depth “Penrose” structure of extrusive basalts overlying intrusive gabbros15. In contrast, tectonically dominated spreading favors stretched and thinned crust possibly hosting widely spaced, long-lived, low-angle, ridgeward-dipping detachment faults16, exhuming serpentinized peridotites with a varying amount of gabbro bodies. This heterogeneous crustal composition is referred to as the “plum-pudding model”17,18. The velocity-depth structure then usually consists of one layer with a rather constant velocity gradient19,20,21 depending on a decreasing serpentinization degree with depth22. Reston et al.11 argue that more closely spaced faulting may result from a tectonic sequence where a detachment fault forms, slips, flexes and becomes inactive when a new detachment fault develops nearby. However, in the absence of convincing deep seismic images for such tectonic sequences, the model of widely spaced detachment faults frequently prevails.
New bathymetric and multichannel seismic (MCS) data, collected in the NLA trench during cruises ANTITHESIS 1 and 323,24 call into question this generic model for the first time. The sedimentary layer reduces the scattering, allowing up-to-6-s-two-way-traveltime (stwt) deep seismic imaging, which is unprecedented for slow-spreading oceanic basement. These data reveal impressive along-strike variations in oceanic fabric, showing an unexpected deep and pervasive tectonic pattern within the basement created at a segment end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. These images challenge the long-lived detachment model, highlight that the tectonic imprint of slow-spreading onto the oceanic basement has possibly been underestimated, and raise questions about the seismic consequences of subduction of tectonically dominated, hydrated, serpentinized, and weak oceanic basement patches.
Results and discussion
Oceanic tectonic pattern near the Jacksonville Fracture zone
The ~N120°-trending Jacksonville Fracture Zone extends from the Northwestern Atlantic to the NLA Subduction Zone25 (Fig. 1). To the south, the 15–20 Fracture Zone subducts beneath the margin at a convergence rate of 20 mm/yr in the N254°E direction26. Between these fracture zones, the Cretaceous oceanic basement in the trench (Fig. 1A) ages westward27. Based on the 300–330 km distance between chron C34 (83 Ma) and C32 (71.6 Ma)28, the mean half-spreading rate was low, 26–29 mm/yr, at the spreading center.
The Jacksonville Patch, originated from the ridge segment end close to the Jacksonville Fracture Zone, is currently located in the trench between 18 and 19°N. The bathymetry and deep structure within this patch drastically differs from that of the incoming oceanic plate in neighboring zones.
To the southeast and the northwest of this patch, the oceanic fabric of the incoming plate corresponds to ~N20°-trending elongated topographic highs sub-parallel to the magnetic anomalies (Fig. 1B, Supplementary Fig. 1). In addition, in every seismic line perpendicular to the trench (Ant01 07, 10, 11, 12, 14, and 50) reflectors of the seafloor, oceanic sediments, and the basement top step down westward along steep fault planes that dominantly dip toward the margin (Fig. 2A). These normal faults penetrate the basement down to gently southwestward-dipping discontinuous reflections M, 1.9 to 2.2 stwt beneath the top of the basement, interpreted as the Moho. These faults crop out at bathymetric scarps, directed N100–120°E, sub-parallel or slightly oblique to the deformation front.
This margin sub-parallel faulting in the outer trench wall has long been described as the result of the incoming plate bending into the subduction zone29,30. According to these studies, plate bending mainly reactivates inherited tectonic structures of the oceanic fabric when favorably oriented (sub-parallel to the trench) and produces new faults when the fabric is highly oblique with respect to the trench. Offshore of the NLA, the oceanic fabric trends at more than 70° angle to the trench. The southwestward-dipping faults, sub-parallel to the deformation front, are thus likely to be newly formed plate bending faults.
Within the Jacksonville Patch, the bathymetric map and associated dip and strike seismic lines (Ant06, 43, 44, 45, 52, 53, and 54) show a drastically different tectonic pattern in the trench (Fig. 1B, Supplementary Fig. 1B). The smoother seafloor is neither spiked with the N20°-trending ridges of the oceanic fabric, nor deformed by the margin-subparallel scarps of plate-bending normal faults. In contrast, short, shallow and steep faults dipping toward east and west bound ~4–6 km wide grabens in the oceanic basement. These grabens define ~N100-110°-directed seafloor undulations trending at 40° angle to the margin front. The seismic lines do not show organized reflections at typical Moho depths. The most striking features are 5–10-km-spaced, convex-up, high-amplitude reflector sequences, which dip from the top of the oceanic basement down to 5 stwt below the seafloor (Fig. 2B). The sequences are 0.1–0.2-stwt-thick (200 to 500 m) and locally up-to-0.5-stwt-thick (1 to 1.5 km).
Ridgeward-Dipping oceanic-basement Reflectors (RDRs)
In order to estimate the true dip direction and geometry of these reflector sequences, we performed depth-conversion of MCS lines Ant45 and 53 interpretations (Fig. 3) as well as a pre-stack depth migration of line Ant45. We used a combined MCS / wide-angle seismic (WAS) velocity model based on nearby WAS line Ant0631 (Supplementary Fig. 3). In this model, the basement corresponds to a 5.6–6.5-km-thick single layer with a 5.5–7.4 km/s velocity range from top to bottom and a constant velocity gradient of 0.27 s−1. Moreover, we used seismic attributes derived from seismic data in order to confirm the reflector sequences geometry. Computing RMS amplitude provides information about reflection physical properties and particularly fluid content32. This analysis suggests that the reflector sequences, compared to other intra-crustal reflections, show physical properties consistent with fluid-rich and/or serpentinized rocks within the upper 6 km of the oceanic basement. At greater depths, the dimming of reflections suggests a decreasing fluid content and/or serpentinization degree (Supplementary Fig. 4). The mean apparent dip angle increases from 17° to 25° in N125°E-trending line Ant53 and from 15° to 35° in N40°E-trending line Ant45 (Fig. 3A, Supplementary Fig. 5). These lines intersect each other (Fig. 3B) and reveal that the reflectors dip in a N60-90°E direction, towards the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, with a dip angle that increases from 20–30° in the upper 3 km, up to 45° between 3 and 8 km depth (Fig. 3C). We refer to these sequences as Ridgeward-Dipping oceanic-basement Reflectors (RDRs) (Fig. 4).
Previous seismic data depicted distant convex-up ridgeward-dipping reflectors with similar dipping angle at segment ends of slow-spreading ridges, interpreted as large-offset long-lived detachment faults, for instance in the Cretaceous-aged Eastern Central Atlantic11,13 and at the South West Indian Ridge (SWIR)10. At the SWIR, the faults are associated with similar ~0.5-stwt-thick sub-parallel bright discontinuous reflectors interpreted as damage zones. The RDRs are also partly consistent with closely spaced, ~1-km-thick sequences of convex-up LCRs (Lower-Crust ridgeward-dipping Reflectors) in the Northwestern Atlantic12,33 as well as in lower crust generated at the faster Mid-Pacific spreading ridge offshore of the Middle America Trench34, Japan35,36,37, Alaska38, and Hawaii39. These LCRs have been interpreted as lithological layering resulting from magma flow in the Atlantic33 and the Pacific40,41. However, discrete spacing of reflectors rather than pervasive layering more readily supports ductile shear zones37,42 due to spreading-related deep tectonic events12 and/or anomaly in melt delivery at the mid-ocean ridge42.
The RDRs size and geometry partly differ from these analogues. These reflectors extend from the top of the oceanic basement to, at least, 6 km below (Fig. 3, Supplementary Fig. 5) while the LCRs are restricted to the lower crust and sole out downward onto the Moho. Discretely spaced thin sequences of subparallel RDRs are poorly consistent with pervasive and massive fan-shaped layering at Seaward Dipping Reflectors (SDRs) and lava flows. At last, the RDRs are closely spaced and most of them do not deform or fracture the top of the oceanic basement and the sediment layer, contrasting with the classical image of distant detachment faults11 with topographic expressions3, in the Northeastern Atlantic. However, this fault spacing at a slow to intermediate spreading axis depends on the fraction of the plate separation rate that is accommodated by magmatic ridge-axis dyke intrusion8. According to these authors, a tectonically dominated slow-spreading ridge segment with moderate magmatic activity can generate closely spaced detachment-type deformation zones during early stages of basement exhumation.
Based on this discussion, we propose that the Jacksonville Patch lithosphere consists of serpentinized mantle rocks, possibly hosting gabbro bodies exhumed along low-angle detachment systems16 or by serpentine diapirism up high-angle faults43. Although we cannot rule out serpentine diapirism, inside corners of fracture zones are known to be prone to detachment faulting44, the RDRs more readily image pervasive proto-detachment shear zones related to early tectonic extension at a magma-poor inside corner of the segmented MAR.. In this interpretation, the RDRs more readily image pervasive proto-detachment shear zones related to early tectonic extension at a magma-poor inside corner of the segmented MAR. Approaching the trench, the plate bending, reactivates extensional strain along the RDRs, favoring fluid percolation, rock alteration and serpentinization, increasing acoustic impedance contrast and reflection amplitude. The RMS analysis supports this interpretation showing high RMS amplitude along the RDRs within the upper 6 km and at the top of the oceanic crust above the RDRs (Supplementary Fig. 4).
Seismogenic behavior of subducting serpentine-bearing rocks
The NLA Subduction Zone has hosted only 39 thrust-faulting earthquakes, detected teleseismically (Mw > 5), with focal mechanisms compatible with interplate co-seismic slips since 1973 (Fig. 5). Most of these subduction-type events occurred to the North of Guadeloupe where they are aggregated in two seismicity clusters: from Montserrat to Barbuda and from the Anegada Passage to Virgin Island45. Very few of them occurred along the ~110-km-wide margin segment in between and to the South of Guadeloupe.
In the Southern and Central Lesser Antilles, numerous fracture zones in the subducting South American Plate (Fig. 1A) likely trigger deep crustal hydration and mantle serpentinization46,47,48. This high water budget is prone to impede large interplate co-seismic rupture, rather favoring alternate slip behavior (SSE, VLFE, EETS)49 and/or numerous low-magnitude events46,48. In contrast, in the NLA, the only fracture zone (the 15–20 FZ) of the subducting North American Plate to interact with the subduction zone (Fig. 1) has not subducted deep enough to favor dehydration of the subducting serpentinized mantle47. This fracture zone, located at less than 30 km depth beneath the forearc31, could trigger shallow dewatering and margin tectonic deformation, weakening the interplate contact, reducing the seismic coupling and affecting the megathrust seismogenic behavior. However, the fracture zone underthrusts similarly the two clusters of subduction-type teleseisms (Mw > 5), and the gap in between (Fig. 5) suggesting a low influence onto the interplate seismicity in the NLA.
We propose that the reduced strength of the subducting plate basement at least partly made of serpentinized mantle rocks strongly contributes to the megathrust weakness and the interplate seismicity reduction. Low-temperature species of serpentine minerals, chrysotile, and lizardite have a low coefficient of internal friction, low fracture strength, and a nominally non-dilatant mode of brittle deformation, which favor localized slip on discrete surfaces, cataclastic flow by shear microcracking50,51,52, and plastic flow within individual grains53. This substantial weakening of serpentine-bearing rocks is not a linear function of the degree of serpentinization but is similar in slightly hydrated peridotites and pure serpentinites22. The subduction of an heterogeneously faulted, hydrated and serpentinized basement is likely to generate an interplate patchiness of contrasting frictional properties, which may impede full interplate coupling53, instead favoring a mix of stable and unstable behaviors prone to triggering small-Mw, slow-slip, and/or very-low frequency earthquakes54. Similar conditions are suspected in anomalous non-seismic regions in locally hydrated forearc mantle within Northeast Japan53.
The Lesser Antilles is an end-member subduction zone, which undergoes the subduction of highly hydrated fracture zones and unsuspected large-scale tectonically dominated oceanic patches. Our data depict for the first time pervasive and closely spaced proto-detachment shear planes, reactivated by the plate bending in the trench within the oceanic basement, at least partly made of serpentinized mantle rocks exhumed at a former inside corner of the MAR. The landward extent of this patch is unclear beyond 40 km from the deformation front, because of seismic amplitude loss at great depth. However, downdip, tectonic interaction and fluid circulation between the patch and the 15–20 Fracture Zone possibly alter the forearc strength. Thus, the reduced strength and fluid circulation related to the Jacksonville serpentinized basement, its pervasive tectonic fabric, and the proximity of the hydrated 15–20 Fracture Zone are likely to account for the heterogeneous distribution of subduction earthquakes in the NLA.
Methods
Data acquisition
Our results are based on recent multichannel seismic (MCS) wide-angle (WAS) seismic and bathymetric data collected during cruises ANTITHESIS 123 and ANTITHESIS 324. Multibeam swath bathymetry data were recorded using a Kongsberg EM122 and a RESON Seabat7150 (432 – 880 beams echosounders) during ANTITHESIS 1 and 3, respectively. We recorded MCS lines Ant01, 10.2 and 12 during Antithesis 123, using a 7699 cu in 18-elements airgun seismic source towed at 17-m-depth and a 3-km-long streamer composed of 288 channels spaced at 12.5 m and towed at 20-m-depth. We acquired lines Ant45, 50, 53, and 54 during Antithesis 324, using a 6500 cu in, 16-elements airgun seismic source towed at 14-m-depth and a 4.5-km-long streamer composed of 720 channels spaced at 6.25 m and towed at 15-m-depth. Shots were fired every 75 m providing a 30-fold coverage.
Data processing
Swath processing consists in spikes and excessive slopes removal by automatic procedure and manual ping editing using Caraïbes® and Globe® softwares (IFREMER). Digital terrain models were produced with a grid spacing of 75 m. Vertical accuracy is between a few meters and tens of meters depending on depth. Bathymetric and slope maps were calculated and processed using QGis. Maps reveal reliefs in the order of tens of meters high and few hundred meters apart.
MCS data processing includes quality control, binning, band-pass filtering, fK filtering, external and internal mutes, noise attenuation, predictive deconvolution, multiple suppression, velocity analysis, normal move out and dip move out corrections, stacking and pre-stack time migration, using Solid- QC® (Ifremer) and Geovation® (CGG-Veritas) Softwares55. We performed iterative Prestack Kirchhoff time migration (PSTM) to yield optimal migration velocities and form the final prestack migrated images. PSTM results in focusing correctly seismic energy from genuine basement reflections but not from out-of-planes arrivals from seafloor or basement propagating through regions of lower root-mean-square velocity. Thus, any intra-basement event observed on presented PSTM images can be interpreted as true reflection.
Depth-converted interpretation and depth-migrated seismic data
Converting and/or migrating to depth the seismic images is a mandatory condition to address the questions of the geometry, dipping angle, and orientation of the RDRs. The depth of investigation (11 to 18 km) is much larger than the streamer length (4 and 4.5 km for Antithesis 1 and 3, respectively). At great depth, this relative shortness of the streamers results in high uncertainties in interval velocity model strictly inferred from Normal-Move-Out (NMO) velocities. In order to reduce this uncertainty, we build composite velocity models based on MCS lines Ant45 and 53 and WAS line Ant0631 (Supplementary Fig. 3), located within the Jacksonville Patch 70 km to the northwest. These models consists in: 1/ NMO velocities converted to interval velocities using the Dix formula at shallow depth (i.e., from the seafloor to the topmost hundreds of milliseconds in the subducting basement) and 2/ velocities inferred from first-arrival traveltime tomography for line Ant06 at greater depth in the basement and the mantle. We then base our investigations on two complementary methodological approaches. We convert to depth the interpretation for seismic lines An45 and 53 (Fig. 3) using these combined MCS/WAS velocity models. In order to confirm this conversion, MCS line Ant45 is migrated to depth (Supplementary Fig. 5) with a preserved amplitude Pre-Stack Depth Migration (PSDM) approach56,57,58,59,60 performed in the angle domain. The velocity macro-model is iteratively corrected during migration, using the “migration-velocity-analysis” approach61 until Common Image Gathers (CIG) show flat reflections. When this condition is satisfied, the CIG are stacked, providing an increased accuracy for the migrated image. In this methodological approach, it is noteworthy that parallel lines Ant45 and 06 are located 70 km from each other. As a result, the PSDM of line Ant45 should be considered as an additional constraint for the RDRs geometry complementing the rougher depth conversion, more than as a robust image for the deep structure of the subduction zone. Despite this uncertainty, both methods result in similar location, depth, geometry, and dipping angles for the RDRs. These reflectors are slightly deeper and steeper in the depth-converted image than in the interpreted PSDM MCS line.
RMS amplitude analysis
Seismic amplitude attributes analysis is commonly used in basin and oil exploration in order to identify and delineate structural and stratigraphic features associated with fluid-rich intervals32. The Root Mean Square (RMS), based on reflection coefficient, independently from the reflection polarity, is particularly suited for fluid content analysis. The RMS amplitude ARMS is calculated from original signal amplitudes ai(t) over a time window of N samples indexed with i, using the ≪ Petrel ≫ software (Schlumberger):
As a result, this analysis estimates the signal overall amplitude and describes the signal average amplitude within a time window.
Data availability
Every geophysical data of the ANTITHESIS cruises are available on the internet site of the French Oceanographic Fleet (https://campagnes.flotteoceanographique.fr/search). Interested readers write/select “Antithesis” in field “search campaign” and the desired data set in field “Data Managed by SISMER.” Once every needed data set is selected, the readers can download it from “My basket” page.
Code availability
Seismic data processing used softwares SolidQC (Ifremer) and Geovation (CGG), bathymetric data were processed with softwares Globe and Claritas (Ifremer). We used Kingdom Suite for the RMS analysis. Maps and 3D bathymetric views were drafted using GMT, Qgis, and Adobe Illustrator. The ray-Born PSDM code derives from an original private version by P. Thierry and G. Lambaré (Mines School of Paris) and the Migration-velocity analysis code, from the original version by W. Agudelo and A. Ribodetti (Geoazur).
References
Cann, J. R. et al. Corrugated slip surfaces formed at ridge–transform intersections on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Nature 385, 329 (1997).
Sauter, D. et al. Continuous exhumation of mantle-derived rocks at the Southwest Indian Ridge for 11 million years. Nat. Geosci. 6, 314–320 (2013).
Smith, D. K., Cann, J. R. & Escartin, J. Widespread active detachment faulting and core complex formation near 13 degrees N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Nature 442, 440–443 (2006).
Garcés, M. & Gee, J. S. Paleomagnetic evidence of large footwall rotations associated with low-angle faults at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Geology 35, 279 (2007).
Morris, A. et al. Footwall rotation in an oceanic core complex quantified using reoriented Integrated Ocean Drilling Program core samples. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 287, 217–228 (2009).
MacLeod, C. J. et al. Direct geological evidence for oceanic detachment faulting: the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 15°45′N. Geology 30, 879–882 (2002).
Schroeder, T. & John, B. E. Strain localization on an oceanic detachment fault system, Atlantis Massif, 30°N, Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 5, Q11007 (2004).
Buck, W. R., Lavier, L. L. & Poliakov, A. N. B. Modes of faulting at mid-ocean ridges. Nature 434, 719–723 (2005).
Tucholke, B. E., Behn, M. D., Buck, W. R. & Lin, J. Role of melt supply in oceanic detachment faulting and formation of megamullions. Geology 36, 455 (2008).
Momoh, E., Cannat, M., Watremez, L., Leroy, S. & Singh, S. C. Quasi-3-D seismic reflection imaging and wide-angle velocity structure of nearly amagmatic oceanic lithosphere at the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge. J. Geophys. Res. 122, 9511–9533 (2017).
Reston, T. J. & Ranero, C. R. The 3-D geometry of detachment faulting at mid-ocean ridges. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 12, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011gc003666 (2011).
Morris, E. et al. Seismic structure of oceanic crust in the western North Atlantic. J. Geophys. Res. 98, 13, 879–813,903 (1993).
Ranero, C. R. & Reston, T. J. Detachment faulting at ocean core complexes. Geology 27, 983–986 (1999).
Peirce, C., Sinha, M., Topping, S. & Gill, C. Morphology and genesis of slow-spreading ridges-seabed scattering and seismic imaging within the oceanic crust. Geophys. J. Int. 168, 59–89 (2007).
White, R. S., McKenzie, D. & O’Nions, R. K. Oceanic crustal thickness from seismic measurements and rare earth element inversions. J. Geophys. Res. 97, 19683–19715 (1992).
Smith, D. K. Tectonics: mantle spread across the sea floor. Nat. Geosci. 6, 247–248 (2013).
Cannat, M. How thick is the magmatic crust at slow spreading oceanic ridges? J. Geophys. Res. 101, 2847–2857 (1996).
Ildefonse, B. et al. Oceanic core complexes and crustal accretion at slow-spreading ridges. Geology 35, 623 (2007).
Dean, S. M., Minshull, T. A., Whitmarsh, R. B. & Louden, K. E. Deep structure of the ocean-continent transition in the southern Iberia Abyssal Plain from seismic refraction profiles: the IAM-9 transect at 40°20N. J. Geophys. Res. 105, 5859–5885 (2000).
Grevemeyer, I. et al. Episodic magmatism and serpentinized mantle exhumation at an ultraslow-spreading centre. Nat. Geosci. 11, 444–448 (2018).
Van Avendonk, H. J. A. et al. Seismic velocity structure of the rifted margin of the eastern Grand Banks of Newfoundland, Canada. J. Geophys. Res. 111, 1–26 (2006).
Escartín, J., Hirth, G. & Evans, B. Strength of slightly serpentinized peridotites: implications for the tectonics of oceanic lithosphere. Geology 29, 1023–1026 (2001).
Marcaillou, B. & Klingelhoefer, F. ANTITHESIS-1-Leg1 Cruise, RV L’Atalante, https://doi.org/10.17600/13010070 (2013).
Marcaillou, B. & Klingelhoefer, F. ANTITHESIS-3 Cruise, RV Pourquoi Pas? https://doi.org/10.17600/16001700 (2016).
Bouysse, P., Garcia-Reyes, A., Mercier de Lépinay, B. & Pubellier, M. (CCGM/CGMW, 2020).
DeMets, C., Gordon, R. G. & Argus, D. F. Geologically current plate motions. Geophys. J. Int. 181, 1–80 (2010).
Müller, R. D., Royer, J.-Y., Cande, S. C., Roest, W. R. & Maschenkov, S. Caribbean Basins. Sedimentary Basins of the World 4 (ed Mann, P.) (Elsevier Science B.V. 1999).
Cande, S. C. & Kent, D. V. Revised calibration of geomagnetic polarity timescale for the late Cretaceous and Cenozoic. J. Geophys. Res. 100, 6093–6095 (1995).
Masson, D. G. Fault patterns at outer trench walls. Marine Geophys. Res. 13, 209–225 (1991).
Ranero, C. R., Phipps Morgan, J., McIntosh, K. D. & Reichert, C. Bending-related faulting and mantle serpentinization at the Middle America trench. Nature 425, 367–373 (2003).
Laurencin, M., Graindorge, D., Klingelhoefer, F., Marcaillou, B. & Evain, M. Influence of increasing convergence obliquity and shallow slab geometry onto tectonic deformation and seismogenic behavior along the Northern Lesser Antilles zone. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 492, 59–72 (2018).
Chopra, S. & Marfurt, K. J. Seismic attributes – a historical perspective. Geophysics 70, 3SO–28SO (2005).
McCarthy, J., Mutter, J. C., Morton, J. L., Sleep, N. H. & Thompson, G. A. Relic magma chamber structures preserved within the Mesozoic North Atlantic crust? GSA Bulletin 100, 1423–1436 (1988).
Hallenborg, E., Harding, A. J. & Kent, G. M. Seismic structure of 15 Ma oceanic crust formed at an ultrafast spreading East Pacific rise: evidence for kilometer-scale fracturing from dipping reflectors. J. Geophys. Res. 108, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003jb002400 (2003).
Kodaira, S. et al. Seismological evidence of mantle flow driving plate motions at a palaeo-spreading centre. Nat. Geosci. 7, 371–375 (2014).
Ranero, C. R., Reston, T. J., Belykh, I. & Gnibidenko, H. Reflective oceanic crust formed at a fast spreading center in the Pacific. Geology 25, 499–502 (1997).
Reston, T. J., Ranero, C. R. & Belykh, I. The structure of Cretaceous oceanic crust of the NW Pacific: constraints on processes at fast spreading centers. J. Geophys. Res. 104, 629–644 (1999).
Bécel, A., Shillington, D. J., Nedimović, M. R., Webb, S. C. & Kuehn, H. Origin of dipping structures in fast-spreading oceanic lower crust offshore Alaska imaged by multichannel seismic data. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 424, 26–37 (2015).
Eittreim, S. L. et al. Oceanic crustal thickness and seismic character along a central Pacific transect. J. Geophys. Res. 99, 3139–3145 (1994).
Henstock, T. J., Woods, A. W. & White, R. S. The accretion of oceanic crust by episodic sill intrusion. J. Geophys. Res. 98, 4143–4161 (1993).
Phipps Morgan, J. & Chen, Y. J. The genesis of oceanic crust: magma injection, hydrothermal circulation, and crustal flow. J. Geophys. Res. 98, 6283–6297 (1993).
Han, S. et al. Seismic reflection imaging of the Juan de Fuca plate from ridge to trench: new constraints on the distribution of faulting and evolution of the crust prior to subduction. J. Geophys. Res. 121, 2015JB012416 (2016).
Zhou, H. & Dick, H. J. B. Thin crust as evidence for depleted mantle supporting the Marion rise. Nature 494, 195–200 (2013).
Reston, T. J. et al. A rifted inside corner massif on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 5°S. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 200, 255–269 (2002).
Hayes, G. P., McNamara, D. E., Seidman, L. & Roger, J. Quantifying potential earthquake and tsunami hazard in the lesser Antilles subduction zone of the Caribbean region. Geophys. J. Int. 196, 510–521 (2013).
Paulatto, M. et al. Dehydration of subducting slow-spread oceanic lithosphere in the Lesser Antilles. Nat. Commun. 8, (2017).
Cooper, G. F. et al. Variable water input controls evolution of the Lesser Antilles volcanic arc. Nature 582, 525–529 (2020).
Schlaphorst, D. et al. Water, oceanic fracture zones and the lubrication of subducting plate boundaries—insights from seismicity. Geophys. J. Int. 204, 1405–1420 (2016).
Saffer, D. M. & Tobin, H. J. Hydrogeology and mechanics of subduction zone forearcs: fluid flow and pore pressure. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 39, 157–186 (2011).
Escartín, J., Hirth, G. & Evans, B. Nondilatant brittle deformation of serpentinites: implications for Mohr-Coulomb theory and the strength of faults. J. Geophys. Res. 102, 2897–2913 (1997).
Moore, D. E., Lockner, D. A., Shengi, M., Summers, R. & Byerlee, J. D. Strengths of serpentinite gouges at elevated temperature. J. Geophys. Res. 102, 14714–787801 (1997).
Reinen, L. A. Seismic and aseismic slip indicators in serpentinite gouge. Geology 28, 135–138 (2000).
Hirauchi, K.-I., Katayama, I., Uehara, S., Miyahara, M. & Takai, Y. Inhibition of subduction thrust earthquakes by low-temperature plastic flow in serpentine. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 295, 349–357 (2010).
Saffer, D. M. & Wallace, L. M. The frictional, hydrologic, metamorphic and thermal habitat of shallow slow earthquakes. Nat. Geosci. 8, 594–600 (2015).
Laurencin, M. et al. The polyphased tectonic evolution of the Anegada Passage in the northern Lesser Antilles subduction zone. Tectonics 36, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017TC004511 (2017).
Lambaré, G., Operto, S., Podvin, P. & Thierry, P. 3D ray+born migration/inversion - part 1: theory. Geophysics 68, 1348–1356 (2003).
Lambaré, G., Virieux, J., Madariaga, R. & Jin, S. Iterative asymptotic inversion in the acoustic approximation. Geophysics 57, 1138–1154 (1992).
Operto, S., Xu, S. & Lambaré, G. Can we quantitatively image complex structures with rays. Geophysics 65, 1223–1238 (2000).
Thierry, P., Lambaré, G., Podvin, P. & Noble, M. 3D preserved amplitude prestack depth migration on a workstation. Geophysics 64, 222–229 (1999).
Ribodetti, A., Operto, S., Agudelo, W., Collot, J.-Y. & Virieux, J. Joint ray+born least-squares migration and simulated annealing optimiza-tion for high-resolution target-oriented quantitative seismic imaging. Geophysics 76, https://doi.org/10.1190/1.3554330 (2011).
Al-Yahya, K. M. Velocity analysis by iterative profile migration. Geophysics 54, 718–729 (1989).
Sandwell, D. T. & Smith, W. H. F. Slope correction for ocean radar altimetry. J. Geodesy 88, 765–771 (2014).
Müller, R. D. & Roest, W. R. Fracture zones in the North Atlantic from combined Geosat and Seasat data. J. Geophys. Res. 97, 3337–3350 (1992).
Acknowledgements
We thank the captain and crew of the R/Vs “L’Atalante” and “Pourquoi Pas?” for the data acquisition during marine surveys ANTITHESIS 1 and 3. M.B.’s PhD Thesis was funded by the Regional Council of Guadeloupe. M.Lau.’s PhD thesis was funded by The Regional Council of Bretagne. We gratefully acknowledge S. Sambolian, S. Operto, and A. Ribodetti for providing the optimized version of the PSDM code, and A. Ribodetti for adapting the codes to the MCS data of this study. Special thanks to Marc-Andre Gutscher for revising the English and providing us with insightful comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
B.M. supervised the data processing and wrote the manuscript. B.M., F.K., and J.-F.L. conceived the ANTITHESIS project and were Principal Investigators onboard RVs “l’Atalante” and “Pourquoi Pas?”. L.S. and J.-F.L. supervised the seismic and multibeam onboard processing, respectively. M.Lau., M.B., and K.E. performed the post-cruise seismic processing during their PhD, supervised by B.M., D.G., J.-F.L., F.K., M.Lai., and S.L. A.G. performed RMS analyses. All authors participated in the Antithesis cruises, discussed the scientific issues, and commented on the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Peer review information Communications Earth & Environment thanks Harm Van Avendonk and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Primary Handling Editors: Luca Dal Zilio, Joe Aslin. Peer reviewer reports are available.
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary information
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Marcaillou, B., Klingelhoefer, F., Laurencin, M. et al. Pervasive detachment faults within the slow spreading oceanic crust at the poorly coupled Antilles subduction zone. Commun Earth Environ 2, 203 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00269-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00269-6
- Springer Nature Limited