Large subduction earthquakes along the fossil Moho in Alpine Corsica

Research Article| May 01, 2014 Large subduction earthquakes along the fossil Moho in Alpine Corsica T.B. Andersen; T.B. Andersen * 1Centre of Earth Evolution and Dynamics, Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047, Blindern 0316 Oslo, Norway *E-mail: t.b.andersen@geo.uio.no. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar H. Austrheim; H. Austrheim 1Centre of Earth Evolution and Dynamics, Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047, Blindern 0316 Oslo, Norway Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar N. Deseta; N. Deseta 2School of Geosciences, University of Witwatersrand, Wits 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar P. Silkoset; P. Silkoset 1Centre of Earth Evolution and Dynamics, Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047, Blindern 0316 Oslo, Norway Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar L.D. Ashwal L.D. Ashwal 2School of Geosciences, University of Witwatersrand, Wits 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information T.B. Andersen * 1Centre of Earth Evolution and Dynamics, Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047, Blindern 0316 Oslo, Norway H. Austrheim 1Centre of Earth Evolution and Dynamics, Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047, Blindern 0316 Oslo, Norway N. Deseta 2School of Geosciences, University of Witwatersrand, Wits 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa P. Silkoset 1Centre of Earth Evolution and Dynamics, Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047, Blindern 0316 Oslo, Norway L.D. Ashwal 2School of Geosciences, University of Witwatersrand, Wits 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa *E-mail: t.b.andersen@geo.uio.no. Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 29 Nov 2013 Revision Received: 14 Jan 2014 Accepted: 17 Feb 2014 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2014 Geological Society of America Geology (2014) 42 (5): 395–398. https://doi.org/10.1130/G35345.1 Article history Received: 29 Nov 2013 Revision Received: 14 Jan 2014 Accepted: 17 Feb 2014 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation T.B. Andersen, H. Austrheim, N. Deseta, P. Silkoset, L.D. Ashwal; Large subduction earthquakes along the fossil Moho in Alpine Corsica. Geology 2014;; 42 (5): 395–398. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G35345.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Subduction earthquakes release vast amounts of energy to crust and mantle lithosphere. The products of such drastic events are rarely observed in the field because they are mostly lost by subduction. We present new observations of deformation products formed by a few very large and numerous small intermediate-depth Alpine subduction earthquakes that are preserved along the exhumed gabbro–mantle peridotite contact of the Piemont-Liguria oceanic basin in Corsica. The abrupt release of energy resulted in shear heating events that completely melted both gabbro and peridotite. The large volumes of melt that were generated can be studied in the fault and injection vein breccia complex along the fault zone. The energy required for wholesale melting of a large volume of peridotite along the fault combined with previous estimates of stress drops show that very large earthquakes took place along the Moho of the subducting plate. Because these fault rocks formed by intraplate seismicity, we suggest, by analogy with present-day subduction, that they represent a proxy for the lower seismogenic zone. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.