This paper presents a multidisciplinary structural analysis of the Reykjanes Peninsula where Holocene deformation of a young oblique rift controls the geothermal processes in presence of a transform segment. The new s...This paper presents a multidisciplinary structural analysis of the Reykjanes Peninsula where Holocene deformation of a young oblique rift controls the geothermal processes in presence of a transform segment. The new structural map from aerial images and outcrops is correlated with selected surface and subsurface data and shows a complex pattern: NNE extensional rift structures, N-S dextral and ENE sinistral oblique-slip Riedel shears of the transform zone, and WNW and NW dextral oblique-slip faults. Shear fractures are more common, and along with the NNE fractures, they compartmentalise the crustal blocks at any scale. The fractures are within two ENE Riedel shear zones, indicating a minimum 7.5 km wide transform zone. The greatly deformed Southern Riedel Shear Zone is bounded to the north and the south by the 1972 and the 2013 earthquake swarms. This shear zone contains the geothermal field in a highly fractured block to the west of a major NW structure. Some of the deformations are: a) clockwise rotation of rift structures by the 1972 earthquake zone, inducing local compression;b) magma injection into extensional and oblique-slip shear fractures;c) reactivation of rift structures by transform zone earthquakes;d) tectonic control of reservoir boundaries by WNW and ENE shear fractures, and the distribution of surface alteration, fumaroles, CO2 flux, reservoir fluid flow and the overall shape of pressure drawdown by N-S, ENE, WNW/NW and NNE fractures. Results demonstrate the role of seismo-tectonic boundaries beyond which fault types and density change, with implications for permeability.展开更多
The diverging plate boundaries in North Iceland and its shelf display a complex tectonic at the Kolbeinsey Ridge (K-R), the Northern Rift Zone (NRZ), and the Tj?rnes Fracture Zone containing the Grímsey Oblique R...The diverging plate boundaries in North Iceland and its shelf display a complex tectonic at the Kolbeinsey Ridge (K-R), the Northern Rift Zone (NRZ), and the Tj?rnes Fracture Zone containing the Grímsey Oblique Rift (GOR), the Húsavík-Flatey Fault (HFF), and the Dalvík Lineament (DL). While active deformation is well-known, the structural pattern is sporadically mapped and a comprehensive account of the upper Tertiary-present deformation is not fully at hand. To address the gaps, this paper provides new regional tectonic maps with continuous coverage, and detailed analyses of the deformation. Faults, open fractures, prominent joints and volcanic edifices were identified on Multibeam/Single beam, Spot 5, and Digital Elevation Model, and subjected to multidisciplinary structural analysis and correlation with selected data. Some of the results are: 1) Six sets constitute the structural pattern. The N-S rift-parallel normal faults are 1/3, and the shear fractures of the transform zone and the oblique rift 2/3 of the fracture population. The en échelon arrangements above deep-seated shear zones indicate dextral slip on WNW to NW, and sinistral slip on NNE to ENE faults, conformable with earthquake data. 2) During the polyphase tectonic, the six sets led to basin and horst formation, block compartmentalisation, rotation, horsetail splay, rhomb-graben in relay zone of strike-slips, and volcanism. 3) Listric faults are absent and the steeply-dipping faults are antithetic, synthetic, or form extensional flower structures above 4 km depth. The Plio-pleistocene/present syn-sedimentary deformation caused a deep half graben in the Eyjafjarearáll Basin (Ey), fault growth, rollover, and sediment onlaps, with some of the faults still active. 4) The plate boundaries of K-R/Ey, GOR/?xarfjreur/NRZ, and DL delimit a major microplate labelled here as Grímsey-Tj?rnes-Dalvík. 5) The WNW earthquake cluster in GOR corresponds either to a blind horsetail splay fault or to initiation of a transform segment parallel to the HFF. The described tectonic-sedimentary-magmatic deformation is relevant to other diverging plate boundaries where similar sets control the hydrocarbon and geothermal resources.展开更多
A structural analysis was undertaken in the South Iceland Seismic Zone (SISZ) transform zone, and in the Hreppar Microplate (HMP) located between the propagating Eastern Rift Zone (ERZ) and the receding Western Rift Z...A structural analysis was undertaken in the South Iceland Seismic Zone (SISZ) transform zone, and in the Hreppar Microplate (HMP) located between the propagating Eastern Rift Zone (ERZ) and the receding Western Rift Zone (WRZ). The age of the oceanic crust in these areas is 3.4 Ma to present. About 20,000 fracture segments on aerial images reflect the dominance of NNE extensional structures in the WRZ. Around 9,000 basement faults, intrusions, secondary fractures, surface ruptures of earthquakes, and leakages were mapped in the outcrops of the HMP and the SISZ. About 23% of these fractures strike NNE, while 77% are dominantly northerly dextral and ENE sinistral, and secondarily E-W, WNW and NW sinistral strike- and oblique-slip structures, forming a Riedel shear pattern typical of a transform zone. Dyke injections into Riedel shears indicate a leaky transform zone. Fractures reactivated, accumulated slip, and re-opened for fluid flow. The ENE faults dip mostly to the southeast and could be the present boundary of the SISZ to the north. A 10 - 30 km wide ENE structural zone hosts a valley to the east, which could be deeper in the west. This ENE zone contains all the earthquakes, dominant ENE rivers, frequent ENE secondary fractures, and is likely the active part of the SISZ. The HMP does not show rotation since 3.4 Ma despite being between two rift segments. Future propagation/recession of the rift segments along their N55°E sections would cause a migration and a clockwise rotation of the SISZ from ENE to E-W. The boundary faults of the SISZ would then be E-W, with unchanged internal Riedel shears, compensating its sinistral motion. Insights into complexities of diverging plate boundaries are critical for resource management in such tectonic contexts.展开更多
Since the mid-nineteenth century., when the first of the Nordic Geological Surveys were established, they have generated a substantial amount of information on the Earth's crust, its natural resources, its processes,...Since the mid-nineteenth century., when the first of the Nordic Geological Surveys were established, they have generated a substantial amount of information on the Earth's crust, its natural resources, its processes, and on the geological history of Nordic areas. The collective mission of the geological surveys is to carry out "Geology for Society", by doing research and providing services, and by making geological information and data easily accessible to all the varied end users in industry, government agencies, government institutes, public administrations, technical offices, academia and research institutes, as well as for private individuals. The present paper gives a brief overview of a few, selected, research areas and projects currently undertaken by the Nordic geological surveys. These serve as practical examples of how the Nordic geological surveys address important societal problems and challenges that require geological input for their solution.展开更多
This paper presents a multidisciplinary structural analysis of a 165 km2 area in the Northern Rift Zone and the Tjörnes Fracture Zone of Iceland, and unravels the tectonic control of the Theistareykir geother...This paper presents a multidisciplinary structural analysis of a 165 km2 area in the Northern Rift Zone and the Tjörnes Fracture Zone of Iceland, and unravels the tectonic control of the Theistareykir geothermal field and its surroundings. About 10729 fracture segments (faults, open fractures, joints) are identified in the upper Tertiary to Holocene igneous series. The segments were extracted from aerial images and hillshade, and then analyzed in terms of number of sets, geometry, motions, frequency, and relative age. The correlation with surface geothermal manifestations, resistivity, earthquakes, and occasional well data reveals the critical regional and local fractures at the surface, reservoir level and greater depth. The main conclusions of this study are: 1) The structural pattern consists of N-S rift-parallel extensional fractures and the Riedel shears of the transform zone striking NNE, ENE, E-W, WNW and NW, which compartmentalize together the blocks at any scale. 2) The en échelon segmentation shows strike and oblique slips on the Riedel shears, with a dextral component on the WNW and NW planes and a sinistral component on the NNE to ENE faults. 3) Fractures form under the influence of the transform mechanism and the effect of rifting becomes significant only with time. 4) The WNW dextral oblique-slip Stórihver Fault of the transform zone has a horsetail splay that extends eastwards into the geothermal field. There, this structure, along with few NW, ENE, NNE and N-S fractures, controls the alteration, alignment of fumaroles, emanating deep gases. These fractures also rupture during natural or induced earthquakes. 5) The resistivity anomalies present en échelon geometries controlled by the six fracture sets. These anomalies display clockwise and anticlockwise rotations within the upper 8 km crustal depth, but at 8 km depth, only three sets (the N-S rift structures, and the E-W and the NW Riedel shears) are present at the rift and transform plate boundaries. Results of this study are relevant to resource exploration in other complex extensional contexts where rift and transform interact.ööö展开更多
基金funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme(grant agreement No.690771).
文摘This paper presents a multidisciplinary structural analysis of the Reykjanes Peninsula where Holocene deformation of a young oblique rift controls the geothermal processes in presence of a transform segment. The new structural map from aerial images and outcrops is correlated with selected surface and subsurface data and shows a complex pattern: NNE extensional rift structures, N-S dextral and ENE sinistral oblique-slip Riedel shears of the transform zone, and WNW and NW dextral oblique-slip faults. Shear fractures are more common, and along with the NNE fractures, they compartmentalise the crustal blocks at any scale. The fractures are within two ENE Riedel shear zones, indicating a minimum 7.5 km wide transform zone. The greatly deformed Southern Riedel Shear Zone is bounded to the north and the south by the 1972 and the 2013 earthquake swarms. This shear zone contains the geothermal field in a highly fractured block to the west of a major NW structure. Some of the deformations are: a) clockwise rotation of rift structures by the 1972 earthquake zone, inducing local compression;b) magma injection into extensional and oblique-slip shear fractures;c) reactivation of rift structures by transform zone earthquakes;d) tectonic control of reservoir boundaries by WNW and ENE shear fractures, and the distribution of surface alteration, fumaroles, CO2 flux, reservoir fluid flow and the overall shape of pressure drawdown by N-S, ENE, WNW/NW and NNE fractures. Results demonstrate the role of seismo-tectonic boundaries beyond which fault types and density change, with implications for permeability.
文摘The diverging plate boundaries in North Iceland and its shelf display a complex tectonic at the Kolbeinsey Ridge (K-R), the Northern Rift Zone (NRZ), and the Tj?rnes Fracture Zone containing the Grímsey Oblique Rift (GOR), the Húsavík-Flatey Fault (HFF), and the Dalvík Lineament (DL). While active deformation is well-known, the structural pattern is sporadically mapped and a comprehensive account of the upper Tertiary-present deformation is not fully at hand. To address the gaps, this paper provides new regional tectonic maps with continuous coverage, and detailed analyses of the deformation. Faults, open fractures, prominent joints and volcanic edifices were identified on Multibeam/Single beam, Spot 5, and Digital Elevation Model, and subjected to multidisciplinary structural analysis and correlation with selected data. Some of the results are: 1) Six sets constitute the structural pattern. The N-S rift-parallel normal faults are 1/3, and the shear fractures of the transform zone and the oblique rift 2/3 of the fracture population. The en échelon arrangements above deep-seated shear zones indicate dextral slip on WNW to NW, and sinistral slip on NNE to ENE faults, conformable with earthquake data. 2) During the polyphase tectonic, the six sets led to basin and horst formation, block compartmentalisation, rotation, horsetail splay, rhomb-graben in relay zone of strike-slips, and volcanism. 3) Listric faults are absent and the steeply-dipping faults are antithetic, synthetic, or form extensional flower structures above 4 km depth. The Plio-pleistocene/present syn-sedimentary deformation caused a deep half graben in the Eyjafjarearáll Basin (Ey), fault growth, rollover, and sediment onlaps, with some of the faults still active. 4) The plate boundaries of K-R/Ey, GOR/?xarfjreur/NRZ, and DL delimit a major microplate labelled here as Grímsey-Tj?rnes-Dalvík. 5) The WNW earthquake cluster in GOR corresponds either to a blind horsetail splay fault or to initiation of a transform segment parallel to the HFF. The described tectonic-sedimentary-magmatic deformation is relevant to other diverging plate boundaries where similar sets control the hydrocarbon and geothermal resources.
文摘A structural analysis was undertaken in the South Iceland Seismic Zone (SISZ) transform zone, and in the Hreppar Microplate (HMP) located between the propagating Eastern Rift Zone (ERZ) and the receding Western Rift Zone (WRZ). The age of the oceanic crust in these areas is 3.4 Ma to present. About 20,000 fracture segments on aerial images reflect the dominance of NNE extensional structures in the WRZ. Around 9,000 basement faults, intrusions, secondary fractures, surface ruptures of earthquakes, and leakages were mapped in the outcrops of the HMP and the SISZ. About 23% of these fractures strike NNE, while 77% are dominantly northerly dextral and ENE sinistral, and secondarily E-W, WNW and NW sinistral strike- and oblique-slip structures, forming a Riedel shear pattern typical of a transform zone. Dyke injections into Riedel shears indicate a leaky transform zone. Fractures reactivated, accumulated slip, and re-opened for fluid flow. The ENE faults dip mostly to the southeast and could be the present boundary of the SISZ to the north. A 10 - 30 km wide ENE structural zone hosts a valley to the east, which could be deeper in the west. This ENE zone contains all the earthquakes, dominant ENE rivers, frequent ENE secondary fractures, and is likely the active part of the SISZ. The HMP does not show rotation since 3.4 Ma despite being between two rift segments. Future propagation/recession of the rift segments along their N55°E sections would cause a migration and a clockwise rotation of the SISZ from ENE to E-W. The boundary faults of the SISZ would then be E-W, with unchanged internal Riedel shears, compensating its sinistral motion. Insights into complexities of diverging plate boundaries are critical for resource management in such tectonic contexts.
文摘Since the mid-nineteenth century., when the first of the Nordic Geological Surveys were established, they have generated a substantial amount of information on the Earth's crust, its natural resources, its processes, and on the geological history of Nordic areas. The collective mission of the geological surveys is to carry out "Geology for Society", by doing research and providing services, and by making geological information and data easily accessible to all the varied end users in industry, government agencies, government institutes, public administrations, technical offices, academia and research institutes, as well as for private individuals. The present paper gives a brief overview of a few, selected, research areas and projects currently undertaken by the Nordic geological surveys. These serve as practical examples of how the Nordic geological surveys address important societal problems and challenges that require geological input for their solution.
文摘This paper presents a multidisciplinary structural analysis of a 165 km2 area in the Northern Rift Zone and the Tjörnes Fracture Zone of Iceland, and unravels the tectonic control of the Theistareykir geothermal field and its surroundings. About 10729 fracture segments (faults, open fractures, joints) are identified in the upper Tertiary to Holocene igneous series. The segments were extracted from aerial images and hillshade, and then analyzed in terms of number of sets, geometry, motions, frequency, and relative age. The correlation with surface geothermal manifestations, resistivity, earthquakes, and occasional well data reveals the critical regional and local fractures at the surface, reservoir level and greater depth. The main conclusions of this study are: 1) The structural pattern consists of N-S rift-parallel extensional fractures and the Riedel shears of the transform zone striking NNE, ENE, E-W, WNW and NW, which compartmentalize together the blocks at any scale. 2) The en échelon segmentation shows strike and oblique slips on the Riedel shears, with a dextral component on the WNW and NW planes and a sinistral component on the NNE to ENE faults. 3) Fractures form under the influence of the transform mechanism and the effect of rifting becomes significant only with time. 4) The WNW dextral oblique-slip Stórihver Fault of the transform zone has a horsetail splay that extends eastwards into the geothermal field. There, this structure, along with few NW, ENE, NNE and N-S fractures, controls the alteration, alignment of fumaroles, emanating deep gases. These fractures also rupture during natural or induced earthquakes. 5) The resistivity anomalies present en échelon geometries controlled by the six fracture sets. These anomalies display clockwise and anticlockwise rotations within the upper 8 km crustal depth, but at 8 km depth, only three sets (the N-S rift structures, and the E-W and the NW Riedel shears) are present at the rift and transform plate boundaries. Results of this study are relevant to resource exploration in other complex extensional contexts where rift and transform interact.ööö