Title
Fore-arc seafloor unconformities and geology: Insight from 3-D seismic geomorphology analysis, Peru
Date Issued
01 August 2017
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Universidad de Toulouse
Publisher(s)
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Abstract
New 3-D seismic data collected over 4870 km2 in the 3°45′S–12°30′S Peruvian segment of the East Pacific subduction system image seafloor erosional surfaces that can be mapped across the fore-arc basins. Fore-arc basins experience various stresses, from their base where basal tectonic erosion acts to the seafloor which is influenced by aerial, shallow, and deep water currents driven by waves or thermohaline oceanic currents. Previously there has been little interest in stresses on the upper layer and there is a lack of documentation of unconformities and the erosive processes in certain bathymetric domains in fore-arc basins. We address this with the study of examples sourced from 3-D seismic reflection surveys of the seafloor offshore Peru. Unconformities occur in two distinctive bathymetric domains associated with the continental shelf and the upper slope of the margin. Identification and characterization of unconformity surfaces yield estimates of the amount of erosion at the modern seafloor that range from 18 to 100%. Regional physical oceanography allows us to calibrate potential candidates for these two distinctive domains. The first control on erosion is the dynamics of deep to intermediate oceanic currents related to the Humboldt-Peru Chile water masses, while the second is wave action in the shallower erosional surfaces. This study illustrates the unseen landscape of the fore-arc basins of South America and helps to highlight the importance of erosive surficial processes in subduction landscapes.
Start page
3062
End page
3077
Volume
18
Issue
8
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Geología
Oceanografía, Hidrología, Recursos hídricos
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85028466474
Source
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
ISSN of the container
15252027
Source funding
Louisiana State University
Sponsor(s)
This research project was conducted under the IRD-PERUPETRO S.A agreement. Seismic reflection data are archived at the PeruPetro Data Bank (http://www.perupetro.com.pe). Other sources are appropriately specified and cited. dGB Earth Sciences- OpendTect and IHS-Kingdom are thanked for their Software University grants, which have allowed this work to take place. Thanks to Alexis Chaigneau (IRD, LEGOS, Toulouse), Peter D. Clift (Louisiana State University), Samuel Toucanne (IFREMER, LGS, Plouzané), and Mads Huuse (University of Manchester) for valuable discussions. The Editor Thorsten Becker, G. F. Moore (University of Hawaii), and an anonymous reviewer are thanked for their constructive comments.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus