ALBERT

Description: 〈p〉The Queen Charlotte Fault defines the Pacific–North America transform plate boundary in western Canada and southeastern Alaska for 〈i〉c.〈/i〉 900 km. The entire length of the fault is submerged along a continental margin dominated by Quaternary glacial processes, yet the geomorphology along the margin has never been systematically examined due to the absence of high-resolution seafloor mapping data. Hence the geological processes that influence the distribution, character and timing of mass transport events and their associated hazards remain poorly understood. Here we develop a classification of the first-order shape of the continental shelf, slope and rise to examine potential relationships between form and process dominance. We found that the margin can be split into six geomorphic groups that vary smoothly from north to south between two basic end-members. The northernmost group (west of Chichagof Island, Alaska) is characterized by concave-upwards slope profiles, gentle slope gradients (2 and display scarp heights between 10 and 250 m. Transpression along the Queen Charlotte Fault increases southwards and the slope physiography is thus progressively more influenced by regional-scale tectonic deformation. The southernmost group (west of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia) defines the tectonically dominated end-member: the continental slope is characterized by steep gradients (〉20°) along the flanks of broad, margin-parallel ridges and valleys. Mass transport features in the tectonically dominated areas are mostly observed along steep escarpments and the larger slides (up to 10 km〈sup〉2〈/sup〉) appear to be failures of consolidated material along the flanks of tectonic features. Overall, these observations highlight the role of first-order margin physiography on the distribution and type of submarine landslides expected to occur in particular morphological settings. The sediment-dominated end-member allows for the accumulation of under-consolidated Quaternary sediments and shows larger, more frequent slides; the rugged physiography of the tectonically dominated end-member leads to sediment bypass and the collapse of uplifted tectonic features. The maximum and average dimensions of slides are an order of magnitude smaller than those of slides observed along other (passive) glaciated margins. We propose that the general patterns observed in slide distribution are caused by the interplay between tectonic activity (long- and short-term) and sediment delivery. The recurrence ( 7 earthquakes along the Queen Charlotte Fault may generate small, but frequent, failures of under-consolidated Quaternary sediments within the sediment-dominated regions. By contrast, the tectonically dominated regions are characterized by the bypass of Quaternary sediments to the continental rise and the less frequent collapse of steep, uplifted and consolidated sediments.〈/p〉

Description: Highlights • Northern Hispaniola Margin is studied with new high-resolution bathymetry and vintage seismic data. • Northern Hispaniola Deformed Belt forms an active N-verging fold-and-thrust imbricate system. • Gravity failures are frequent features in the Northern Hispaniola Margin and Bahamas Banks slope. • Oblique collision accelerates the Bahamas Carbonate Province collapse and retreat. • New observations help the assessment of tsunami hazards in the Northern Caribbean region. Abstract The northern margin of Hispaniola records the oblique collision/underthrusting of the Bahamas Carbonate Province with the island-arc. Due to the collision, northern Hispaniola has suffered several natural disasters caused by major earthquakes and tsunamis, such as the historic earthquake of 1842, the tsunami caused by earthquake-driven slumping in 1918 in the Mona Passage, the seismic crisis of 1943–1953 with five events of M 〉 7.0 or the seismic crisis of 2003 with a main shock of M6.3 and a large aftershock of M5.3. Using new swath multibeam bathymetry data and vintage single- and multi-channel seismic profiles, we have performed a regional scale analysis and interpretation of the shallow surface and active processes along the northern margin of the Dominican Republic. We have identified three morphostructural provinces: a) the Bahamas Banks, b) the Hispaniola Trench and c) the Insular Margin, which are divided into two tectonic domains, the Collision Domain and Underthrusting Domain. The southern slope of the Bahamas Carbonate Province shows a very irregular morphology produced by active erosive processes and normal dip-slip faulting, evidence of an extensional tectonic regime and margin collapse. This collapse is of major extent in the Oblique Collision Domain where there are erosive and fault escarpments with higher dip-slip fault throws. The Hispaniola Trench, is formed by the Caicos and Hispaniola basins in the underthrusting domain, and by the Santisima Trinidad and Navidad basins in the Oblique Collision Domain. They have a flat seafloor with a sedimentary filling of variable thickness consisting of horizontal or sub-horizontal turbiditic levels. The turbiditic fill mostly proceeds from the island arc through wide channels and canyons, which transports sediment from the shelf and upper slope. The Insular Margin comprises the Insular Shelf and the Insular Slope. The active processes are generated on the Insular Slope where the Northern Hispaniola Deformed Belt is developed. This Deformed Belt shows a very irregular morphology, with a WNW-ESE trending N verging imbricate thrust-and fold system. This system is the result of the adjustment of the oblique collision/underthrusting between the North American plate and the Caribbean plate. In the Oblique Underthrusting Domain the along-strike development of the imbricate system is highly variable forming salients and recesses. This variability is due to along-strike changes in the sediment thickness of the Hispaniola Trench, as well as to the variable topography of the underthrusting Bahamas Carbonate Province. In the Oblique Collision Domain, the morphology of the Insular Slope and the development of the Deformed Belt deeply change. The imbricate system is barely inferred and lies upslope. These changes are due to the active collision of Bahamas Carbonate Province with the Insular Margin where the spurs are indented against the Insular Margin. Throughout the entire area studied, gravitational instabilities have been observed, especially on the Insular Margin and to a lesser extent on the southern slope of the Bahamas Carbonate Province. These instabilities are a direct consequence of the active underthrusting/collision process. We have mapped large individual slumps north of Puerto Plata in the Oblique Underthrusting Domain and zones of major slumps in the Oblique Collision Domain. These evidences of active processes must be considered as near-field sources in future studies on the assessment of tsunami hazards in the region.

Description: Highlights • Along-strike variations of tectonic framework in northeastern Caribbean margin are studied. • Shallow plate boundary structure related to the slab geometry has been defined. • First-order fault systems and its associated features have been mapped along the margin. Abstract The North American (NOAM) plate converges with the Caribbean (CARIB) plate at a rate of 20.0 ± 0.4 mm/yr. towards 254 ± 1°. Plate convergence is highly oblique (20–10°), resulting in a complex crustal boundary with along-strike segmentation, strain partitioning and microplate tectonics. We study the oblique convergence of the NOAM and CARIB plates between southeastern Cuba to northern Puerto Rico using new swath multibeam bathymetry data and 2D multi-channel seismic profiles. The combined interpretation of marine geophysical data with the seismicity and geodetic data from public databases allow us to perform a regional scale analysis of the shallower structure, the seismotectonics and the slab geometry along the plate boundary. Due to differential rollback between the NOAM oceanic crust north of Puerto Rico and the relative thicker Bahamas Carbonate Province crust north of Hispaniola a slab tear is created at 68.5°W. The northern margin of Puerto Rico records the oblique high-dip subduction and rollback of the NOAM plate below the island arc. Those processes have resulted in a forearc transpressive tectonics (without strain partitioning), controlled by the Septentrional-Oriente Fault Zone (SOFZ) and the Bunce Fault Zone (BFZ). Meanwhile, in the northern margin of Hispaniola, the collision of the Bahamas Carbonate Province results in high plate coupling with strain partitioning: SOFZ and Northern Hispaniola Deformed Belt (NHDB). In the northern Haitian margin, compression is still relevant since seismicity is mostly associated with the deformation front, whereas strike slip earthquakes are hardly anecdotal. Although in Hispaniola intermediate-depth seismicity should disappear, diffuse intermediate-depth hypocenter remains evidencing the presence of remnant NOAM subducted slab below central and western Hispaniola. Results of this study improve our understanding of the active tectonics in the NE Caribbean that it is the base for future assessment studies on seismic and tsunamigenic hazard.