Abstract
Over the range of scales for which most seismic reflection data contain information, lithologic variation is one of the major sources of heterogeneity in the crystalline crust. This is particularly true at depths greater than ~10 to 15 km where most of the fractures and microfractures that contribute to upper crustal heterogeneity are closed. The spatial distribution of lithologic heterogeneity is a function of the range of magmatic and tectonic processes that progressively distribute and redistribute the various lithologic components of the crust (the “tectonic roulette” of Fountain and Salisbury, 1981). Although the seismic reflection wavefield responds indirectly to lithologic variation, it is directly responsive to fluctuations of acoustic impedance that are more closely coupled to mineralogy than lithology. Accordingly, pressure and temperature variations that modify mineralogy, but not bulk chemistry, combine with lithologic variation to play both static and dynamic roles in defining the heterogeneity of the Earth’s crust.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Austrheim, H., 1987, Eclogitization of lower crustal granulites by fluid migration through shear zones, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 81:221–232.
Burke, M. M., and Fountain, D. M., 1990, Seismic properties of rocks from an exposure of extended continental crust; new laboratory measurements from the Ivrea Zone, Tectonophysics 182:119–146.
Eaton, D. W., Hynes, A., Indares, A., and Rivers, T., 1995, Seismic images of eclogites, crustal-scale extension, and Moho relief in the eastern Grenville province, Quebec, Geology 23:855–858.
Emmerich, H., Zwielich, J., and Müller, G., 1993, Migration of synthetic seismograms for crustal structures with random heterogeneities, Geophys. J. Int 113:225–238.
Fountain, D. M., and Salisbury, M. H., 1981, Exposed cross-sections through the continental crust: Implications for crustal structure, petrology and evolution, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 56:263–277.
Fountain, D. M., Boundy, T. M., Austrheim, H., and Rey, P., 1994, Eclogite facies shear zones - deep crustal reflectors?, Tectonophysics 232:411–424.
Gibson, B. S., and Levander, A. R., 1988, Modeling and processing of scattered waves in seismic reflection surveys, Geophysics 54:466–478.
Gibson, B. S., and Levander, A. R., 1990, Apparent layering in common-midpoint stacked images of two-dimensionally heterogeneous targets, Geophysics 55:1466–1477.
Goff, J. A., and Jordan, T. H., 1988, Stochastic modeling of seafloor morphology: Inversion of Sea Beam data for second-order statistics, J. Geophys. Res. 93:13,589–13,608.
Goff, J. A., and Levander, A., 1996, Incorporating “sinuous connectivity” into stochastic models of crustal heterogeneity: Examples from the Lewisian gneiss complex, Scotland, the Franciscan formation, California, and the Hafafit gneiss complex, Egypt, J. Geophys. Res. 101:8489–8501.
Goff, J. A., Holliger, K., and Levander, A., 1994, Modal fields: A new method for characterization of random seismic velocity heterogeneity, Geophys. Res. Lett. 21:493–496.
Holliger, K., 1996, Upper crustal seismic velocity heterogeneity as derived from a variety of P-wave sonic logs, Geophys. J. Int. 125:813–829.
Holliger, K., and Levander, A. R., 1992, A stochastic view of lower crustal fabric based on evidence from the Ivrea Zone, Geophys. Res. Lett. 19:1153–1156.
Holliger, K, Levander, A. R., and Goff, J. A., 1993, Stochastic modeling of the reflective lower crust: petrophysical and geological evidence from the Ivrea Zone (Northern Italy), J. Geophys. Res. 98:11,967–11,980.
Holliger, K., and Levander, A.R., 1994a, Structure and seismic response of extended continental crust: stochastic analysis of the Strona-Ceneri and Ivrea Zones, Italy, Geology 22:79–82.
Holliger, K., and Levander, A. R., 1994b, Seismic structure of gneissic/granitic upper crust: geological and petrophysical evidence from the Stona-Ceneri Zone (northern Italy) and implications for crustal seismic exploration, Geophys. J. Int. 119:497–510.
Hurich, C. A., 1996, Statistical description of seismic reflection wave fields: A step towards quantitative interpretation of deep seismic reflection profiles, Geophys. J. Int. 125:719–728.
Hurich, C. A., and Kocurko, A., 2000, Statistical approaches to interpretation of seismic reflection data, Tectonophysics 329:243–258.
Hurich, C. A., Deemer, S. J., Indares, A., and Salisbury, M., 2001, Compositional and metamorphic controls on velocity and reflectivity in the continental crust: An example from the Grenville Province of eastern Québec, J. Geophys. Res. 106:665–682.
Hynes, A., and Eaton, D., 1999, Lateral ramps as an aid to the unroofing of deep-crustal rocks: Seismic evidence from the Grenville province, Tectonics 18:343–360.
Hynes, A., Indares, A., Rivers, T., and Gobeil, A., 2000, Lithoprobe line 55: Integration of out-of-plane seismic results with surface structure, metamorphism, and geochronology, and the tectonic evolution of the eastern Grenville Province, Can. J. Earth Sci. 37:341–358.
Indares, A., 1997, Grt-Ky clinopyroxenites and Grt-Ky restites from the Manicouagan Imbricate Zone: An unusual case of high P-T metamorphism in the Grenville Province, Can. Mineral. 35:1161–1171.
Indares, A., Dunning, G., Cox, R., Gale, D., and Connelly, J., 1998, High-pressure, high-temperature rocks from the base of thick continental crust: Geology and age constraints from the Manicouagan Imbricate Zone, eastern Grenville Province, Tectonics 17:426–440.
Indares, A., Dunning, G., and Coc, R., 2000, Tectono-thermal evolution of deep crust in a Mesoproterozoic continental collision setting: The Manicouagan example, Canadian J. Earth Sci. 37:325–340.
Levander, A., England, R. W., Smith, S. K., Hobbs, R. W., Goff, J. A., and Holliger, K., 1994, Stochastic characterization and seismic response of upper and middle crustal rocks based on the Lewisian gneiss complex, Scotland, Geophys. J. Int. 119:234–259.
Pullammamappallil, S., Levander, A., and Larkin, S., 1997, Estimation of crustal stochastic parameters from seismic exploration data, J. Geophys. Res. 102:15,269–15,286.
Rivers, T., 1997, Lithotectonic elements of the Grenville Province: Review and tectonic implications, Precambrian Res. 86:117–154.
Vasudevan, K., and Cook, F. A., 1998, Skeletons and fractals - a statistical approach to deep crustal seismic data processing and interpretation, Tectonophysics 286:93–109.
Warner, M., 1990, Absolute reflection coefficients from deep seismic reflections, Tectonophysics 173:15–23.
Wu, R-S., Spatial coherences of seismic data and the application to characterization of small-scale heterogeneities, this volume.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hurich, C.A. (2003). The Nature of Crustal Seismic Heterogeneity: A Case Study From the Grenville Province. In: Goff, J.A., Holliger, K. (eds) Heterogeneity in the Crust and Upper Mantle. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0103-9_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0103-9_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-4924-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-0103-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive