TY - JOUR
T1 - Interwedging and inversion structures around the trans-European suture zone in the Baltic Sea, a manifestation of compressive tectonic phases
AU - Meissner, Rolf
AU - Thybo, Hans
AU - Abramovitz, T. Tanni
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - During the evolution of continents, compressive tectonic phases can leave certain tectonic patterns in the lithosphere to be observed by reflection seismology. Also, in the area of the trans-European suture zone (TESZ) in the Baltic Sea, several relatively short, but occasionally strong, compressive phases have left their marks in the lithosphere in form of characteristic fault and thrust zones in the rigid parts of crust and mantle, especially clear and well investigated in some sediment troughs. At depth, interwedging processes seem to be generated by colliding tectonic units with different rheology, creating bi-vergent fault structures, possibly--but not necessarily--initiated by a previous subduction of intervening oceanic lithosphere. Near the surface, reactivation and inversion of previous faults are very selective. Transpressional processes and the reduced friction inside the faults are suggested to play a major role. It is assumed that the transfer of plate boundary stressed over long distances is performed mainly through the thick and rigid mantle lid, not through the thin, rigid, and heterogeneous upper crust. This assumption involves mechanisms of a vertical transfer of stresses from the mantle into the inversion area, and some signs of such a process are seen around the Tornquist Zone (TZ). Several examples of compressive transfer of stresses are shown.
AB - During the evolution of continents, compressive tectonic phases can leave certain tectonic patterns in the lithosphere to be observed by reflection seismology. Also, in the area of the trans-European suture zone (TESZ) in the Baltic Sea, several relatively short, but occasionally strong, compressive phases have left their marks in the lithosphere in form of characteristic fault and thrust zones in the rigid parts of crust and mantle, especially clear and well investigated in some sediment troughs. At depth, interwedging processes seem to be generated by colliding tectonic units with different rheology, creating bi-vergent fault structures, possibly--but not necessarily--initiated by a previous subduction of intervening oceanic lithosphere. Near the surface, reactivation and inversion of previous faults are very selective. Transpressional processes and the reduced friction inside the faults are suggested to play a major role. It is assumed that the transfer of plate boundary stressed over long distances is performed mainly through the thick and rigid mantle lid, not through the thin, rigid, and heterogeneous upper crust. This assumption involves mechanisms of a vertical transfer of stresses from the mantle into the inversion area, and some signs of such a process are seen around the Tornquist Zone (TZ). Several examples of compressive transfer of stresses are shown.
KW - Interwedging
KW - Inversion structures
KW - Reflection seismics
KW - Stress transfer
KW - TESZ area
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0036443851&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0040-1951(02)00356-6
DO - 10.1016/S0040-1951(02)00356-6
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0036443851
SN - 0040-1951
VL - 360
SP - 265
EP - 280
JO - Tectonophysics
JF - Tectonophysics
IS - 1-4
ER -