Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Reactivation of ancient Antarctic rift zones by intraplate seismicity

Nature Geoscience volume 11, pages 515–519 (2018)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Buried deep beneath the Antarctic polar ice sheet, the geological structure and tectonic activity of East Antarctica have long remained unknown. The apparent lack of tectonic seismicity was thought to be anomalous relative to other continental interiors and has been attributed to a lack of intraplate stress due to the surrounding spreading ridges and low absolute plate velocity or to the weight of ice sheets increasing the normal stress. Here we report 27 intraplate tectonic earthquakes detected by the AGAP/GAMSEIS seismic array during 2009 in the interior of East Antarctica, which represents locally recorded seismicity in the region. The earthquakes are primarily extensional and located at shallow to mid-crustal depths beneath sedimentary basins aligned linearly adjacent to the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains. The basins may be part of an ancient continental rift system, which provides a zone of pre-existing tectonic weakness that focuses the seismicity. These events, when combined with events in published catalogues of Antarctic seismicity, indicate levels of seismicity in East Antarctica of the same order of magnitude as that of other stable cratons, such as the Canadian Shield.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Maps of event and station locations.
Fig. 2: Vertical waveform record sections.
Fig. 3: Seismicity rate and magnitude–frequency relationship.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Adams, R. D., Hughes, A. A. & Zhang, B. M. A confirmed earthquake in continental Antarctica. Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc. 81, 489–492 (1985).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Di Gaicomo, D. et al. A new ISC service: the bibliography of seismic events. Seismol. Res. Lett. 85, 354–360 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Reading, A. M. in Continental Intraplate Earthquakes: Science, Hazard, and Policy Issues Spec. Paper 425 (eds Stein, S. & Mazzotti, S.) Ch. 18 (Geological Society of America, 2007).

  4. Sykes, L. R. Intraplate seismicity, reactivation of preexisting zones of weakness, alkaline magmatism, and other tectonism postdating continental fragmentation. Rev. Geophys. 16, 621–688 (1978).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. DeMets, C., Gordon, R. G., Argus, D. F. & Stein, S. Current plate motions. Geophys. J. Int. 101, 425–478 (1990).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Argus, D. F. & Gordon, R. G. No-net-rotation model of current plate velocities incorporating plate motion model NUVEL-1. Geophys. Res. Lett. 18, 2039–2042 (1991).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Johnston, A. C. Suppression of earthquakes by large continental ice sheets. Nature 330, 467–469 (1987).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Maggi, A., Jackson, J. A., Priestley, K. & Baker, C. A re‐assessment of focal depth distributions in southern Iran, the Tien Shan and northern India: do earthquakes really occur in the continental mantle? Geophys. J. Int. 143, 629–661 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Snoke, J. A. in International Handbook of Earthquake and Engineering Seismology (eds Lee, W. H. K. et al.) 1629–1630 (Academic, San Diego, 2003).

  10. Guttenberg, B. & Richter, C. F. Frequency of earthquakes in California. Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 34, 185–188 (1944).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Frohlich, C. & Davis, S. D. Teleseismic b values; or, much ado about 1.0. J. Geophys. Res. 48, 631–644 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Okal, E. A. Intraplate seismicity of Antarctica and tectonic implications. Earth. Planet. Sci. Lett. 52, 397–409 (1981).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Ferraccioli, F. et al. East Antarctic rifting triggers uplift of the Gamburtsev Mountains. Nature 479, 338–392 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Hansen, S. E. et al. Crustal structure of the Gamburtsev Mountains, East Antarctica, from S-wave receiver functions and Rayleigh wave phase velocities. Earth. Planet. Sci. Lett. 300, 395–401 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Heeszel, D. S. et al. Rayleigh wave constraints on the structure and tectonic history of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains, East Antarctica. J. Geophys. Res. 118, 2138–2153 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Lloyd, A. J. et al. Upper mantle seismic structure beneath central East Antarctica from body wave tomography: implications for the origin of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 14, 902–920 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Langston, C. A., Brazier, R., Nyblade, A. A. & Owens, T. J. Local magnitude scale and seismicity rate for Tanzania, East Africa. Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 88, 712–721 (1998).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Mulibo, G. D. & Nyblade, A. A. The seismotectonics of southeastern Tanzania: implications for the propagation of the eastern branch of the East African Rift. Tectonophysics 674, 20–30 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Schulte, S. M. & Mooney, W. D. An updated global earthquake catalogue for stable continental regions: reassessing the correlation with ancient rifts. Geophys. J. Int. 161, 707–721 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Phillips, G. & Läufer, A. L. Brittle deformation relating to the Carboniferous–Cretaceous evolution of the Lambert Graben, East Antarctica: a precursor for Cenozoic relief development in an intraplate and glaciated region. Tectonophysics 471, 216–224 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Artyushkov, E. V. Stresses in the lithosphere caused by crustal thickness inhomogeneities. J. Geophys. Res. 78, 7675–7708 (1973).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Pascal, C. & Cloetingh, S. A. P. L. Gravitational potential stresses and stress field of passive continental margins: insights from the south-Norway shelf. Earth Plan. Sci. Lett. 277, 464–473 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Olivieri, M. & Spada, G. Ice melting and earthquake suppression in Greenland. Polar Sci. 9, 94–106 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Whitehouse, P. L., Bentley, M. J. & Le Brocq, A. M. A deglacial model for Antarctica: geological constraints and glaciological modelling as a basis for a new model of Antarctic glacial isostatic adjustment. Quat. Sci. Rev. 32, 1–24 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Martin-Español, A., Bamber, J. L. & Zammit-Mangion, A. Constraining the mass balance of East Antarctica. Geophys. Res. Lett. 44, 4168–4175 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Arvidsson, R. Fennoscandian earthquakes: whole crustal rupturing related to postglacial rebound. Science 274, 744–746 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Steffen, R., Wu, P., Steffen, H. & Eaton, D. W. The effect of earth rheology and ice-sheet size on fault slip and magnitude of postglacial earthquakes. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 388, 71–80 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Hubbert, M. K. & Rubey, W. W. Role of fluid pressure in mechanics of overthrust faulting. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am. 70, 115–166 (1959).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Wolovick, M. J., Bell, R. B., Creyts, T. T. & Frearson, N. Identification and control of subglacial water networks under Dome A, Antarctica. J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surf. 118, 140–154 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Scambos, T., Haran, T., Fahnestock, M., Painter, T. & Bohlander, J. MODIS-based Mosaic of Antarctica (MOA) data sets: continent-wide surface morphology and snow grain size. Remote Sens. Environ. 111, 242–257 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Fretwell, P. et al. Bedmap2: improved ice bed, surface and thickness datasets for Antarctica. Cryosphere Discuss. 6, 4305–4361 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Wiens, D. & Nyblade, A. A Broadband Seismic Experiment to Image the Lithosphere beneath the Gamburtsev Mountains, East Antarctica (International Federation of Digital Seismograph Networks, 2007); https://doi.org/10.7914/SN/ZM_2007

  33. Sun, X. et al. Crust and upper mantle shear wave structure of Antarctica from seismic ambient noise. Eos Trans. AGU Fall Meet. Suppl. (AGU, Washington DC, 2009).

  34. Albert, D. G. Theoretical modeling of seismic noise propagation in firn at the South Pole, Antarctica. Geophys. Res. Lett. 25, 4257–4260 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Kim, W. Y. The M L scale in eastern North America. Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 88, 935–951 (1998).

    Google Scholar 

  36. Atkinson, G. M. & Martens, S. N. Seismic hazard estimates for sites in the stable Canadian craton. Can. J. Civil. Eng. 34, 1299–1311 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the polar support specialists at IRIS/PASSCAL, who provided both instrumentation and field support during the operation of this array, and the pilots and staff of Kenn Borek Air and the New York Air National Guard for flight support. We thank the US Antarctic program, its contractors and staff at the South Pole Station, McMurdo Station and AGAP-S camp for logistical support. We also thank the members of the AGAP/GAMSEIS field team, particularly P. Shore, who were essential for gathering this data set. This research was supported by the US National Science Foundation under grants ANT-0537597, ANT-0537371, ANT-0838934, ANT-0838973 and PLR-1246712. Seismic data are available through the IRIS DMC. The facilities of the IRIS Consortium are supported by the NSF under Cooperative Agreement EAR-1063471, the NSF Office of Polar Programs and the DOE National Nuclear Security Administration.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Amanda C. Lough

  2. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St Louis, MO, USA

    Douglas A. Wiens

  3. Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Andrew Nyblade

Authors
  1. Amanda C. Lough
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Douglas A. Wiens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Andrew Nyblade
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

A.C.L. performed the event location, focal mechanism determination and uncertainty analysis. All the authors participated in the initial data collection, in the interpretation of results and in the preparation of the final paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amanda C. Lough.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lough, A.C., Wiens, D.A. & Nyblade, A. Reactivation of ancient Antarctic rift zones by intraplate seismicity. Nature Geosci 11, 515–519 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0140-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0140-6

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing