Clifton, A.E., Kattenhorn, S.A. (2006)

Structural architecture of a highly oblique divergent plate boundary segment.

Tectonophysics 419, 27-40.

The Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest Iceland is a highly oblique spreading segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge oriented about 30° from the direction of absolute plate motion. We present a complete and spatially accurate map of fractures for the Reykjanes Peninsula with a level of detail previously unattained. Our map reveals a variability in the pattern of normal, oblique- and strike-slip faults and open fractures which reflects both temporal and spatial strain partitioning within the plate boundary zone. Fracture density varies across the length and width of the peninsula, with density maxima at the ends and at the northern margin of the zone of volcanic activity. Fractures with similar strike cluster into distinct structural domains which can be related to patterns of faulting predicted for oblique extension and to their spatial distribution with respect to volcanic fissure swarms. Additional structural complexity on the Reykjanes Peninsula can be reconciled with magmatic periodicity and associated temporal strain partitioning implied by GPS data, as well as locally perturbed stress fields. Individual faults show variable slip histories, indicating that they may be active during both magmatic and amagmatic periods associated with different strain fields.

DOWNLOAD full article in PDF format.

External link: Science Direct

Citations:

This paper has been cited in the following works:

Jenness, M.H., Clifton, M.E., 2009. Controls on the geometry of a Holocene crater row: a field study from southwest Iceland. BULLETIN OF VOLCANOLOGY: doi: 10.1007/s00445-009-0267-9.

Peate, D.W., Baker, J.A., Jakobsson, S.P., Waight, T.E., Kent, A.J.R., Grassineau, N.V., Skovgaard, A.C., 2009. Historic magmatism on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland: a snap-shot of melt generation at a ridge segment. CONTRIBUTIONS TO MINERALOGY AND PETROLOGY 157 (3): 359-382.

Sudhaus, H., Jónsson, S., 2009. Improved source modelling through combined use of InSAR and GPS under consideration of correlated data errors: application to the June 2000 Kleifarvatn earthquake, Iceland. GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL 176 (2): 389-404.

Friese, N., 2008. Brittle tectonics of the Thingvellir and Hengill volcanic systems, Southwest Iceland: field studies and numerical modelling. GEODINAMICA ACTA 21 (4): 169-185.

Giroud, N., 2008. A chemical study of arsenic, boron and gases in high-temperature geothermal fluids in Iceland. Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Iceland, 110p.

Scheiber, S.E., 2008. Geodetic investigation of Torfajökull Volcano, Iceland. Unpublished MSc thesis, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, 223p.

Keiding, M., Árnadóttir, T., Sturkell, E., Geirsson, H., Lund, B., 2008. Strain accumulation along an oblique plate boundary: The Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest Iceland. GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL 172 (2): 861-872.

Nicolas, J., Durand, S., Cravoisier, S., Geoffroy, L., Dorbath, C., 2008. First results of the 2005 seismology-geodesy monitoring campaign for volcanic crustal deformation in the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland. In: Xu, P., Liu, J., Dermanis, A., eds., VI Hotine-Marussi Symposium on Theoretical and Computational Geodesy, Wuhan, China, May 29-June 2, 2006. INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GEODESY SYMPOSIA BOOK SERIES 132, Springer, Berlin, doi:10.1007/978-3-540-74584-6_12: 73-78.

Paquet, F., Dauteuil, O., Hallot, E., Moreau, F., 2007. Tectonics and magma dynamics coupling in a dyke swarm of Iceland. JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY 29 (9): 1477-1493.

Þorbjarnardóttir B.S., Gudmundsson G.B., Hjaltadóttir S., Roberts, M.J., 2007. Seismicity in Iceland during 2006. JOKULL 57: 45-60.

BACK