Gravity and magnetic investigations along the Peruvian continental margin

This work presents the first three-dimensional gravity and magnetic investigation along the convergent Peruvian margin. Three-dimensional magnetic modelling is still a relatively untried and challenging technique. The gravity and magnetic models image nearly the whole margin which has been only partly resolved with geophysical methods up to now. The gravity and magnetic models are constructed for three areas between 7.25ʿS and 16.75ʿS and are based on the available wide-angle seismic velocity models (Hampel et al., 2002a; Broser et al., 2002). The continental margin is characterised by positive free-air anomalies of varying amplitudes, indicating that the margin has been shaped by the subduction of different features on the Nazca Plate...thesi

Ridge subduction at an erosive margin - the collision zone of the Nazca Ridge in southern Peru

The 1.5-km-high, obliquely subducting Nazca Ridge and its collision zone with the Peruvian margin have been imaged by wide-angle and reflection seismic profiles, swath bathymetry, and gravity surveying. These data reveal that the crust of the ridge at its northeastern tip is 17 km thick and exhibits seismic velocities and densities similar to layers 2 and 3 of typical oceanic crust. The lowermost layer contributes 10–12 km to the total crustal thickness of the ridge. The sedimentary cover is 300–400 m thick on most parts of the ridge but less than 100 m thick on seamounts and small volcanic ridges. At the collision zone of ridge and margin, the following observations indicate intense tectonic erosion related to the passage of the ridge. The thin sediment layer on the ridge is completely subducted. The lower continental slope is steep, dipping at ∼9°, and the continental wedge has a high taper of 18°. Tentative correlation of model layers with stratigraphy derived from Ocean Drilling Program Leg 112 cores suggests the presence of Eocene shelf deposits near the trench. Continental basement is located <15 km landward of the trench. Normal faults on the upper slope and shelf indicate extension. A comparison with the Peruvian and northern Chilean forearc systems, currently not affected by ridge subduction, suggests that the passage of the Nazca Ridge along the continental margin induces a temporarily limited phase of enhanced tectonic erosion superposed on a long-term erosive regime