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NASA NTRS1985

Heat and extension at mid- and lower crustal levels of the Rio Grande rift

The process by which large amounts (50 to 200 percent) of crustal extension are produced was concisely described by W. Hamilton in 1982 and 1983. More recently, England, Sawyer, P. Morgan and others have moved toward quantifying models of lithospheric thinning by incorporating laboratory and theoretical data on rock rheology as a function of composition, temperature, and strain rate. Hamilton's description identifies three main crustal layers, each with a distinctive mechanical behavior; brittle fracturing and rotation in the upper crust, discontinuous ductile flow in the middle crust and laminar ductile flow in the lower crust. The temperature and composition dependent brittle-ductile transition essentially defines the diffuse boundary between upper and middle crust. It was concluded that the heat responsible for the highly ductile nature of the lower crust and the lensoidal and magma body structures at mid-crustal depths in the rift was infused into the crust by relatively modest ( 10 percent by mass) magmatic upwelling (feeder dikes) from Moho levels. Seismic velocity-versus-depth data, supported by gravity modeling and the fact that volumes of rift related volcanics are relatively modest ( 6000 cubic km) for the Rio Grande system, all imply velocities and densities too small to be consistent with a massive, composite, mafic intrusion in the lower crust.

Olsen, K. H.↗

NASA NTRS1986

A dynamical model of lithosphere extension and sedimentary basin formation

The effect of convection-induced stresses at the base of the continental lithosphere on surface and extensional deviatoric stresses is investigated. The biaxial strain in the continental lithosphere is controlled by power law creep in the upper and lower crust, brittle failure, and the Dorn plasticity law. The relationship between the lithosphere stress distribution and Moho temperatures is examined. The extension factors, basin subsidence, heat flow, and sediment loading of the lithosphere are studied.

Houseman, G.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Cenozoic thermal, mechanical and tectonic evolution of the Rio Grande rift

Two areas of New Mexico which exhibit complex but similar Cenozoic histories of extensional tectonism are analyzed. The first study area is the Basin and Range province and southern Rio Gande rift in southern New Mexico; the second study area is the central Rio Grande rift in central and northern New Mexico, the southern San Luis basin, the Espanola basin, and the Albuquerque basin. Two phases of extension were identified: the first phase which began in mid-Oligocene was characterized by local high-strain extension events, low-angle faulting, and the development of broad, shallow basins, all indicating an approximately NE-SW + or - 25 deg extension direction; the later phase which occurred primarily in the late Miocene, was characterized by synchronous, high-angle faulting, resulting in large vertical strains which produced the modern Rio Grande rift morphology. Extension direction was approximately E-W. Geotherms were estimated and lithospheric strength curves were calculated for these two phases of extension. A high geotherm was deduced for the early phase resulting in a shallow crustal brittle transition, and insignificant mantle strength. The lithosphere subsequently cooled, resulting in a significant zone of mantle strength beneath the Moho. It is concluded that the interrelationship among regional and local prerifting, synrifting, and postrifting events in the Rio Grande rift attests to the fact that the rifting (in the region studied) should be considered in the context of other geologic events.

Morgan, P.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Three-dimensional P and S wave velocity structures of southern Peru and their tectonic implications

Arrival times of compressional and shear (S) waves from microearthquakes recorded in 1981 by an 18-station regional array are used to study the three-dimensional velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle of the central Andes. The data suggest a crustal thickness of about 40 km beneath the coast, increasing to about 70 km beneath the Cordillera Occidental. The inverse correlation between the dip in the Moho and the dip of the slab may indicate a broad-scale causal relation between the two. S wave velocities in the mantle between 70 and 130 km depth above the 30-degree dipping slab are low, possibly indicating the presence of a partially melted asthenosphere that may be responsible for the magmatic activity recorded in southern Peru.

Cunningham, Paul S.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Recycling of lower continental crust through foundering of cumulates from contaminated mafic intrusions

A mechanism is presented for recycling of lower continental material back into the mantle. Picritic magmas, possible parental to volumious continental volcanics such as the Karoo and Deccan, became trapped at the Moho, where they interacted with and become contaminated by lower crustal materials. Upon crystallization, the magmas differentiated into lower ultramafic cumulate zones and upper gabbroic-anorthositic zones. The ultramafic cumulates are denser than underlying mantle and sink, carrying lower crustal components as trapped liquid, as xenoliths or rafts, and as constituents of cumulate minerals. This model provides a potentially significant crust-mantle differentiation mechanism, and may also represent a contributing factor in crustal recycling, possibly important in producing some OIB reservoirs.

Arndt, Nicholas T.↗

NASA NTRS1988

U-Pb zircon geochronology and evolution of some Adirondack meta-igneous rocks

An update was presented of the recent U-Pb isotope geochronology and models for evolution of some of the meta-igneous rocks of the Adirondacks, New York. Uranium-lead zircon data from charnockites and mangerites and on baddeleyite from anorthosite suggest that the emplacement of these rocks into a stable crust took place in the range 1160 to 1130 Ma. Granulite facies metamorphism was approximately 1050 Ma as indicated by metamorphic zircon and sphene ages of the anorthosite and by development of magmatitic alaskitic gneiss. The concentric isotherms that are observed in this area are due to later doming. However, an older contact metamorphic aureole associated with anorthosite intrusion is observed where wollastonite develops in metacarbonates. Zenoliths found in the anorthosite indicate a metamorphic event prior to anorthosite emplacement. The most probable mechanism for anorthosite genesis is thought to be ponding of gabbroic magmas at the Moho. The emplacement of the anorogenic anorthosite-mangerite-charnockite suite was apparently bracketed by compressional orogenies.

Mclelland, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Mapping in the Oman ophiolite using enhanced Landsat Thematic Mapper images

The level of apparent lithological discrimination possible with Landsat TM images in the Oman are discussed. It is found that by using parts of the short-wavelength IR spectrum, the discrimination revealed by the TM data is sufficiently uniform throughout the Oman ophiolite to produce lithological maps at 1:100,000 scale. Decorrelation stretching of the data produces images in which allows for the recognition of variations in gabbro composition, the identification of small acidic, gabbroic, and ultramafic intrusions, the discrimation of the uppermost mantle from the deeper mantle, the precise location of the Moho, and the delineation of gossans and areas subject to choritic-epidotic alteration.

Abrams, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

The isostatic state of Mead crater

We have analyzed high-resolution Magellan Doppler tracking data over Mead crater, using both line-of-sight and spherical harmonic methods, and have found a negative gravity anomaly of about 4-5 mgal (at spacecraft altitude, 182 km). This is consistent with no isostatic compensation of the present topography; the uncertainty in the analysis allows perhaps as much as 30% compensation at shallow dpeths (approximately 25 km). This is similar to observations of large craters on Earth, which are not generally compensated, but contrasts with at least some lunar basins which are inferred to have large Moho uplifts and corresponding positive Bouguer anomalies. An uncompensated load of this size requires a lithosphere with an effective elastic lithosphere thickness greater than 30 km. In order for the crust-mantle boundary not to have participated in the deformation associated with the collapse of the transient cavity during the creation of the crater, the yield strength near the top of the mantle must have been significantly higher on Earth and Venus than on the Moon at the time of basin formation. This might be due to increased strength against frictional sliding at the higher confining pressures within the larger planets. Alternatively, the thinner crusts of Earth and Venus compared to that of the Moon may result in higher creep strength of the upper mantle at shallower depths.

Banerdt, W. B.↗

NASA NTRS1999

The Lunar Crustal Thickness from Analysis of the Lunar Prospector Gravity and Clementine Topography Datasets

The Lunar Prospector spacecraft has mapped the gravity field of the Moon to a level of resolution never achieved before, and a spherical harmonic representation to degree and order 100 is available. When combined with the topography dataset produced by the Clementine mission, the resulting Bouguer anomaly map is interpreted to model the thickness of the lunar crust. Such models are crucial to understanding the lunar thermal history and the formation of geological features such as mascon basins, several more of which have been newly discovered from this dataset. A two-layer planetary model was used to compute the variations of the depth to the lunar Moho. The thickness values ranged from near 0 to 120 km. There is significant agreement with previous work using the Clementine gravitational field data with differences in specific locations such as South Pole-Aitken Basin, for example.

Asmar, S.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Crustal Structure of the Iceland Region from Spectrally Correlated Free-air and Terrain Gravity Data

Seismic refraction studies have provided critical, but spatially restricted constraints on the structure of the Icelandic crust. To obtain a more comprehensive regional view of this tectonically complicated area, we spectrally correlated free-air gravity anomalies against computed gravity effects of the terrain for a crustal thickness model that also conforms to regional seismic and thermal constraints. Our regional crustal thickness estimates suggest thickened crust extends up to 500 km on either side of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge with the Iceland-Faeroe Ridge crust being less extended and on average 3-5 km thinner than the crust of the Greenland-Iceland Ridge. Crustal thickness estimates for Iceland range from 25-35 km in conformity with seismic predictions of a cooler, thicker crust. However, the deepening of our gravity-inferred Moho relative to seismic estimates at the thermal plume and rift zones of Iceland suggests partial melting. The amount of partial melting may range from about 8% beneath the rift zones to perhaps 20% above the plume core where mantle temperatures may be 200-400 C above normal. Beneath Iceland, areally limited regions of partial melting may also be compositionally and mechanically layered

Leftwich, T. E.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Crustal Structure of the Iceland Region from Spectrally Correlated Free-air and Terrain Gravity Data

Leftwich, T. E.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Crustal structure of Mars from gravity and topography

Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) topography and gravity models from 5 years of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft tracking provide a window into the structure of the Martian crust and upper mantle. We apply a finite-amplitude terrain correction assuming uniform crustal density and additional corrections for the anomalous densities of the polar caps, the major volcanos, and the hydrostatic flattening of the core. A nonlinear inversion for Moho relief yields a crustal thickness model that obeys a plausible power law and resolves features as small as 300 km wavelength. On the basis of petrological and geophysical constraints, we invoke a mantle density contrast of 600 kg m-3; with this assumption, the Isidis and Hellas gravity anomalies constrain the global mean crustal thickness to be >45 km. The crust is characterized by a degree 1 structure that is several times larger than any higher degree harmonic component, representing the geophysical manifestation of the planet's hemispheric dichotomy. It corresponds to a distinction between modal crustal thicknesses of 32 km and 58 km in the northern and southern hemispheres, respectively. The Tharsis rise and Hellas annulus represent the strongest components in the degree 2 crustal thickness structure. A uniform highland crustal thickness suggests a single mechanism for its formation, with subsequent modification by the Hellas impact, erosion, and the volcanic construction of Tharsis. The largest surviving lowland impact, Utopia, post-dated formation of the crustal dichotomy. Its crustal structure is preserved, making it unlikely that the northern crust was subsequently thinned by internal processes.

Neumann, G. A.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Local Lunar Gravity Field Analysis over the South Pole-aitken Basin from SELENE Farside Tracking Data

We present a method with which we determined the local lunar gravity field model over the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin on the farside of the Moon by estimating adjustments to a global lunar gravity field model using SELENE tracking data. Our adjustments are expressed in localized functions concentrated over the SPA region in a spherical cap with a radius of 45deg centered at (191.1 deg E, 53.2 deg S), and the resolution is equivalent to a 150th degree and order spherical harmonics expansion. The new solution over SPA was used in several applications of geophysical analysis. It shows an increased correlation with high-resolution lunar topography in the frequency band l = 40-70, and admittance values are slightly different and more leveled when compared to other, global gravity field models using the same data. The adjustments expressed in free-air anomalies and differences in Bouguer anomalies between the local solution and the a priori global solution correlate with topographic surface features. The Moho structure beneath the SPA basin is slightly modified in our solution, most notably at the southern rim of the Apollo basin and around the Zeeman crater

Lunar Gravity↗

NASA NTRS2018

Comparison of Magnetic Fields from a New Satellite Magnetic Model of the Lithosphere with Magnetic Fields Predicted from Crust 1.0

Both magnetic and seismic techniques can provide information about the Moho (Mohorovicic discontinuity). We develop a new technique that provides a better estimate of the magnetic thickness of the crust, as compared with previous approaches. It uses prior knowledge from seismology (Crust 1.0), a new high-degree model from CHAMP (CHAllenging Mini-satellite Payload) and Swarm (LCS-1 - a model of Earth's lithospheric field) and a newly developed technique. The technique is appropriate for regions where induced magnetization dominates over remanent magnetization. We compare the predictions from LCS-1 with those from Crust 1.0, with some simple assumptions, and find that the correlations increase until about spherical harmonic degree 30, and then decrease globally. Spatially, the correlations between the seismic and magnetic techniques are strongest over North America and Australia, and weakest over South America and northern Africa. Strong correlations also exist between the two approaches over the Antarctic, northern Europe, and Greenland. While we might expect the seismic and magnetic approaches to correlate over well-characterized regions (i.e. North America), and show weaker correlations over poorly-characterized regions (i.e. South America and north Africa), the strong correlation in the Antarctic and Greenland is puzzling, because both of these regions are poorly-characterized. We discuss some possible explanations, and implications, of this attempt to correlate seismic and magnetic approaches to characterizing the lithosphere.

Seismic↗