This thesis investigates continental deformation at many different spatial and temporal scales and at several plate-tectonic settings. Our main purpose is to understand how the continental crust behaves under applied forces, both over geologic times and over shorter time scales such as the seismic cycle. The thesis consists of separate investigations of long-term and short-term plate boundary d...

A joint analysis of global seismicity and seismic tomography indicates that the seismic potential of continental intraplate regions is correlated with the seismic properties of the lithosphere. Archean and Early Proterozoic cratons with cold, stable continental lithospheric roots have fewer crustal earthquakes and a lower maximum earthquake catalog moment magnitude (Mcmax). The geographic shear...

■ Abstract The Cordilleran orogen of western North America is a segment of the Circum-Pacific orogenic belt where subduction of oceanic lithosphere has been underway along a great circle of the globe since breakup of the supercontinent Pangea began in Triassic time. Early stages of Cordilleran evolution involved Neoproterozoic rifting of the supercontinent Rodinia to trigger miogeoclinal sedime...

introduction the bornaward area is located in the northeastern iran (in the khorasan razavi province) 28 km northwest of the city of bardaskan at 57˚ 46΄ to 57˚ 52΄ n latitude and 35˚ 21΄ to 35˚ 24΄e longitude. the taknar structural zone, situated in the north central iranian micro continent, is part of the lut block (forster, 1978). the taknar zone is an allochthonous block bounded by the daro...

Global topographic data and the assumption of Airy isostasy have been used to estimate the crustal volumes of the continents and the oceanic and continental submarine plateaus. The calculated crustal volumes are 7182 X lo6 km3 for the continents, 242 x lo6 km3 for continental submarine plateaus, and 369 X lo6 km3 for oceanic plateaus. The Falkland Plateau and the Lord Howe Rise are the two larg...

The Toba Caldera has been the site of several large explosive eruptions in the recent geological past, including the world's largest Pleistocene eruption 74,000 years ago. The major cause of this particular behaviour may be the subduction of the fluid-rich Investigator Fracture Zone directly beneath the continental crust of Sumatra and possible tear of the slab. Here we show a new seismic tomog...