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Research project

Determining the 3D structure of the west Galicia rifted margin

Project overview

Continental breakup occurs by stretching and thinning of the lithosphere. At some rifted margins, the style of deformation changes at high degrees of extension to one dominated by motion along low-angle detachment faults. Seismic profiles available before this project demonstrated that the deformation is highly three- dimensional, but were insufficient to determine the nature of this 3D deformation. To determine how this final phase of continental extension occurs, we conducted a 3D combined reflection and wide-angle seismic experiment on the west Galicia margin, which is characterised by crust thinning to less than 3 km, well-defined fault blocks, probable detachment and polyphase faulting, but virtually no magmatism or thick sediment piles to obscure the structures and the amount of extension.

Staff

Lead researchers

Professor Tim Minshull

Professor in Ocean & Earth Science
Research interests
  • Continental breakup and the onset of seafloor spreading
  • Methane hydrate beneath the seafloor and its role in the Earth system
  • Exploration geophysics: seismic and electromagnetic imaging
Connect with Tim

Email: tmin@soton.ac.uk

Other researchers

Professor Jonathan Bull

Professor in Ocean & Earth Science
Research interests
  • Fluid Flow and Carbon Capture and Storage
  • Monitoring, Measurement and Verification
  • Marine Geophysics
Connect with Jonathan

Email: bull@soton.ac.uk

Collaborating research institutes, centres and groups

Research outputs

Comparison of 2-D and 3-D full waveform inversion imaging using wide-angle seismic data from the Deep Galicia Margin
Bhargav Boddupalli, Tim A Minshull, Joanna Morgan, Gaye Bayrakci & Dirk Klaeschen, 2021, Geophysical Journal International, 227(1), 228-256
DOI: 10.1093/gji/ggab164
Type: article
3D development of detachment faulting during continental breakup
Gaël Lymer, Derren J.f. Cresswell, Tim J. Reston, Jonathan M. Bull, Dale S. Sawyer, Julia K. Morgan, Carl Stevenson, Annabel Causer, Tim A. Minshull & Donna J. Shillington, 2019, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 515, 90-99
DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2019.03.018
Type: article
From continental hyperextension to seafloor spreading
C. Chen, L. Watremez, M. Prada, T. Minshull, R. Edwards, B. O’Reilly, T. Reston, G. Wagner, V. Gaw, D. Klaschen & P. Shannon, 2018, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
DOI: 10.1029/2018JB016375
Type: article
A low-angle detachment fault revealed
C. Nur Schuba, Gary G. Gray, Julia K. Morgan, Dale S. Sawyer, Donna J. Shillington, Tim J. Reston, Jonathan M. Bull & Brian E. Jordan, 2018, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 492, 232-238
DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2018.04.012
Type: article
Resolving the fine-scale velocity structure of continental hyperextension at the Deep Galicia Margin using full-waveform inversion
Richard, Gareth Davy, Joanna V. Morgan, Timothy Minshull, Gaye Bayrakci, Jonathan Bull, Dirk Klaeschen, T.J. Reston, Dale S. Sawyer, Gael Lymer & Derren Cresswell, 2017, Geophysical Journal International
DOI: 10.1093/gji/ggx415
Type: article
Crustal strain-dependent serpentinisation in the Porcupine Basin, offshore Ireland
Manel Prada, Louise Watremez, Chen Chen, Brian M. O'Reilly, Tim A. Minshull, Tim J. Reston, Patrick M. Shannon, Dirk Klaeschen, Gerlind Wagner & Viola Gaw, 2017, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 474, 148-159
DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2017.06.040
Type: article
Deep structure of the Porcupine Basin from wide-angle seismic data
L. Watremez, M. Prada, T. Minshull, B. O'reilly, Chen Chen, T. Reston, P. Shannon, G. Wagner, V. Gaw, D. Klaeschen, R. Edwards & S. Lebedev, 2016
DOI: 10.1144/PGC8.26
Type: bookChapter