Seismic constraints on shallow crustal processes at the East Pacific Rise

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 1994.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 176-179).by Gail Lynn Christeson.Ph.D

Mantle deformation beneath the Chicxulub impact crater

Accepted versio

Probing the hydrothermal system of the Chicxulub impact crater

The ~180-km-diameter Chicxulub peak-ring crater and ~240-km multiring basin, produced by the impact that terminated the Cretaceous, is the largest remaining intact impact basin on Earth. International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) Expedition 364 drilled to a depth of 1335 m below the sea floor into the peak ring, providing a unique opportunity to study the thermal and chemical modification of Earth’s crust caused by the impact. The recovered core shows the crater hosted a spatially extensive hydrothermal system that chemically and mineralogically modified ~1.4 × 105 km3 of Earth’s crust, a volume more than nine times that of the Yellowstone Caldera system. Initially, high temperatures of 300° to 400°C and an independent geomagnetic polarity clock indicate the hydrothermal system was long lived, in excess of 106 years

Dynamic modeling suggests terrace zone asymmetry in the Chicxulub crater is caused by target heterogeneity

We investigate the cause of terrace zone asymmetry in the Chicxulub impact crater using dynamic models of crater formation. Marine seismic data acquired across the crater show that the geometry of the crater's terrace zone, a series of sedimentary megablocks that slumped into the crater from the crater rim, varies significantly around the offshore half of the crater. The seismic data also reveal that, at the time of impact, both the water depth and sediment thickness varied with azimuth around the impact site. To test whether the observed heterogeneity in the pre-impact target might have affected terrace zone geometry we constructed two end-member models of upper-target structure at Chicxulub, based on the seismic data at different azimuths. One model, representing the northwest sector, had no water layer and a 3-km thick sediment layer; the other model, representing the northeast sector, had a 2-km water layer above a 4-km sediment layer. Numerical models of vertical impacts into these two targets produced final craters that differ substantially in terrace zone geometry, suggesting that the initial water depth and sediment thickness variations affected the structure of the terrace zone at Chicxulub. Moreover, the differences in terrace zone geometry between the two numerical models are consistent with the observed differences in the geometry of the terrace zone at different azimuths around the Chicxulub crater. We conclude that asymmetry in the pre-impact target rocks at Chicxulub is likely to be the primary cause of asymmetry in the terrace zone

Expedition 390C preliminary report: South Atlantic transect reentry systems

International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 390C was implemented in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic and occupied sites proposed for the postponed Expeditions 390 and 393. The objectives for Expedition 390C were to core one hole at each site with the advanced piston corer/extended core barrel (APC/XCB) system to basement for gas safety monitoring and to install a reentry system with casing through the sediment to between ~5 m above basement and &lt;5 m into basement in a second hole. These operations will expedite basement drilling during the rescheduled South Atlantic Transect Expeditions 390 and 393. The six primary sites for those expeditions form a transect perpendicular to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on the South American plate, overlying crust ranging in age from 7 to 61 Ma. Basement coring will increase our understanding of how crustal alteration progresses over time across the flanks of a slow/intermediate spreading ridge and how microorganisms survive in deep subsurface environments. Sediment will be used in paleoceanographic and microbiological studies. Expedition 390C started in Kristiansand, Norway, and ended in Cape Town, South Africa, after 31 days of operations. We cored a single APC/XCB sediment hole to the contact with hard rock material at four of the six sites and successfully installed reentry systems with casing at three. Two failed attempts at drilling in casing and a reentry system into hard rock at Site U1558 indicate that the Dril-Quip reentry cones and running tools are incompatible with use in hard rock because the release mechanism does not work when the casing string weight cannot be fully removed from the running tool. Therefore, at Sites U1558 and U1559, casing was installed to ~10 m above basement. Site U1557 has a thick sediment cover (564 m) and will require multiple casing strings to reach basement; a single 16” casing string was installed to 60 meters below seafloor at this site, and later expeditions will extend casing.</p

Expedition 395E preliminary report: complete South Atlantic transect reentry systems

International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expeditions 390C and 395E were implemented in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic and occupied sites proposed for the postponed Expeditions 390 and 393, South Atlantic Transect 1 and 2. Expedition 395E completed most of the preparatory work that Expedition 390C did not have time to complete. The overall objective of Expeditions 390C and 395E was to core one hole at each of the South Atlantic Transect sites with the advanced piston corer/extended core barrel (APC/XCB) system to basement for gas safety monitoring and to install a reentry system with casing through the sediment to a few meters into basement in a second hole.Expedition 395E started in Cape Town, South Africa, and ended in Reykjavík, Iceland, after 20 days of on-site operations. We cored to basement at two new sites, U1560 and U1561, and completed reentry systems at three sites, U1556, U1557, and U1560. These operations will expedite basement drilling during the rescheduled Expeditions 390 and 393.Hole U1560A (Proposed Site SATL-25A) lies in ~15.2 Ma crust and is composed of carbonate-rich sediments to 120 meters below seafloor (mbsf) and 2.5 m of underlying basalt. A reentry system was deployed in Hole U1560B to 122.0 mbsf. We then moved to the sites at the western end of the transect on ~61 Ma crust. In Hole U1557D, 10¾ inch casing was deployed to 571.6 mbsf to deepen the 16 inch casing that was deployed during Expedition 390C, and in Hole U1556B, a reentry system was deployed to 284.2 mbsf. The remaining operations time was insufficient to install a reentry system at the originally planned site, Proposed Site SATL-33B. Instead, we cored Hole U1561A (Proposed Site SATL-55A) to 47 mbsf. It is composed of red clay and carbonate ooze overlying 3 m of basalt.The six primary sites of the South Atlantic Transect lie perpendicular to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on the South American plate, overlying crust ranging in age from 7 to 61 Ma. Basement coring will increase our understanding of how crustal alteration progresses over time across the flanks of a slow/intermediate-spreading ridge and how microorganisms survive in deep subsurface environments. Sediment will be used in paleoceanographic and microbiological studies.</p

Dynamic modeling suggests terrace zone asymmetry in the Chicxulub crater is caused by target heterogeneity

We investigate the cause of terrace zone asymmetry in the Chicxulub impact crater using dynamic models of crater formation. Marine seismic data acquired across the crater show that the geometry of the crater's terrace zone, a series of sedimentary megablocks that slumped into the crater from the crater rim, varies significantly around the offshore half of the crater. The seismic data also reveal that, at the time of impact, both the water depth and sediment thickness varied with azimuth around the impact site. To test whether the observed heterogeneity in the pre-impact target might have affected terrace zone geometry we constructed two end-member models of upper-target structure at Chicxulub, based on the seismic data at different azimuths. One model, representing the northwest sector, had no water layer and a 3-km thick sediment layer; the other model, representing the northeast sector, had a 2-km water layer above a 4-km sediment layer. Numerical models of vertical impacts into these two targets produced final craters that differ substantially in terrace zone geometry, suggesting that the initial water depth and sediment thickness variations affected the structure of the terrace zone at Chicxulub. Moreover, the differences in terrace zone geometry between the two numerical models are consistent with the observed differences in the geometry of the terrace zone at different azimuths around the Chicxulub crater. We conclude that asymmetry in the pre-impact target rocks at Chicxulub is likely to be the primary cause of asymmetry in the terrace zone

Impact-induced porosity and micro-fracturing at the Chicxulub impact structure

Porosity and its distribution in impact craters has an important effect on the petrophysical properties of impactites: seismic wave-speeds and reflectivity, rock permeability, strength, and density. These properties are important for the identification of potential craters and the understanding of the process and consequences of cratering. The Chicxulub impact structure, recently drilled by the joint International Ocean Discovery Program and International Continental scientific Drilling Program Expedition 364, provides a unique opportunity to compare direct observations of impactites with geophysical observations and models. Here, we combine small scale petrographic and petrophysical measurements with larger scale geophysical measurements and numerical simulations of the Chicxulub impact structure. Our aim is to assess the cause of unusually high porosities within the Chicxulub peak ring and the capability of numerical impact simulations to predict the gravity signature and the distribution and texture of porosity within craters. We show that high porosities within the Chicxulub peak ring are primarily caused by shock-induced micro-fracturing. These fractures have preferred orientations, which can be predicted by considering the orientations of principal stresses during shock, and subsequent deformation during peak-ring formation. Our results demonstrate that numerical impact simulations, implementing the Dynamic Collapse Model of peak-ring formation, can accurately predict the distribution and orientation of impact-induced micro-fractures in large craters which plays an important role in the geophysical signature of impact structures