Continuous Deformation Versus Faulting Through the Continental Lithosphere of New Zealand

Seismic anisotropy and P-wave delays in New Zealand imply widespread deformation in the underlying mantle, not slip on a narrow fault zone, which is characteristic of plate boundaries in oceanic regions. Large magnitudes of shear-wave splitting and orientations of fast polarization parallel to the A...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1999-10, Vol.286 (5439), p.516-519
Main Authors: Molnar, Peter, Anderson, Helen J., Audoine, Etienne, Eberhart-Phillips, Donna, Gledhill, Ken R., Klosko, Eryn R., McEvilly, Thomas V., Okaya, David, Savage, Martha Kane, Stern, Tim, Wu, Francis T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anisotropy
Congenital Impairments
Continuous deformations
Earth
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Earthquakes, seismology
Exact sciences and technology
Geology
Internal geophysics
Lithospheres
Magnetic anomalies
Mantle
Mantle (Geology)
Motion
Oceans
Plate tectonics
S waves
Seismology
Simple shear
Strikes
Subduction
Tectonics. Structural geology. Plate tectonics
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Summary:Seismic anisotropy and P-wave delays in New Zealand imply widespread deformation in the underlying mantle, not slip on a narrow fault zone, which is characteristic of plate boundaries in oceanic regions. Large magnitudes of shear-wave splitting and orientations of fast polarization parallel to the Alpine fault show that pervasive simple shear of the mantle lithosphere has accommodated the cumulative strike-slip plate motion. Variations in P-wave residuals across the Southern Alps rule out underthrusting of one slab of mantle lithosphere beneath another but permit continuous deformation of lithosphere shortened by about 100 kilometers since 6 to 7 million years ago.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.286.5439.516