Description: Re-examination of marine geophysical data from the continental margin of West Morocco reveals a broad zone characterized by deformation, active faults and updoming offshore the High Atlas (Morocco margin), situated next to the Tafelney Plateau. Both seismic reflection and swath-bathymetric data, acquired during Mirror marine geophysical survey in 2011, indicate recent uplift of the margin including uplift of the basement. This deformation, which we propose to name the Atlantic Atlas tectonic arch, is interpreted to result largely through uplift of the basement, which originated during the Central Atlantic rifting stage - or even during phases of Hercynian deformation. This has produced a large number of closely spaced normal and reverse faults, “piano key faults”, originating from the basement and affecting the entire sedimentary sequence, as well as the seafloor. The presence of four terraces in the Essaouira canyon system at about 3500 meters water depth and “piano key faults” and the fact that these also affect the seafloor, indicate that the Atlantic Atlas is still active north of Agadir canyon. We propose that recent uplift is causing morphogenesis of four terraces in the Essaouira canyon system. In this paper the role of both Canary plume migration and ongoing convergence between the African and Eurasian plates in the formation of the Atlantic Atlas are discussed as possibilities to explain the presence of a tectonic arch in the region. The process of reactivation of passive margins is still not well understood. The region north of Agadir canyon represents a key area to better understand this process.

Description: Highlights • We document marine forearc deformation in the Northern Chile seismic gap. • Upper-plate normal faulting off Northern Chile locally extends close to the trench. • Normal faults indicate that past earthquakes may reached the shallow plate-boundary. Abstract Seismic rupture of the shallow plate-boundary can result in large tsunamis with tragic socio-economic consequences, as exemplified by the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake. To better understand the processes involved in shallow earthquake rupture in seismic gaps (where megathrust earthquakes are expected), and investigate the tsunami hazard, it is important to assess whether the region experienced shallow earthquake rupture in the past. However, there are currently no established methods to elucidate whether a margin segment has repeatedly experienced shallow earthquake rupture, with the exception of mechanical studies on subducted fault-rocks. Here we combine new swath bathymetric data, unpublished seismic reflection images, and inter-seismic seismicity to evaluate if the pattern of permanent deformation in the marine forearc of the Northern Chile seismic gap allows inferences on past earthquake behavior. While the tectonic configuration of the middle and upper slope remains similar over hundreds of kilometers along the North Chilean margin, we document permanent extensional deformation of the lower slope localized to the region 20.8°S–22°S. Critical taper analyses, the comparison of permanent deformation to inter-seismic seismicity and plate-coupling models, as well as recent observations from other subduction-zones, including the area that ruptured during the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake, suggest that the normal faults at the lower slope may have resulted from shallow, possibly near-trench breaking earthquake ruptures in the past. In the adjacent margin segments, the 1995 Antofagasta, 2007 Tocopilla, and 2014 Iquique earthquakes were limited to the middle and upper-slope and the terrestrial forearc, and so are upper-plate normal faults. Our findings suggest a seismo-tectonic segmentation of the North Chilean margin that seems to be stable over multiple earthquake cycles. If our interpretations are correct, they indicate a high tsunami hazard posed by the yet un-ruptured southern segment of the seismic gap.

Description: Silicon nanocrystals formed in the annealed SiN x /Si 3 N 4 superlattices are attractive for research due to the smaller band offsets of Si 3 N 4 matrix to Si in comparison with commonly used SiO x /SiO 2 superlattices. However, the annealed SiN x /Si 3 N 4 structures contain an increased number of nanocrystal interface defects, which completely suppress nanocrystal emission spectrum. In this work, we study a novel SiO x N y /Si 3 N 4 hetero multilayer combination, which compromises the major issues of SiO x /SiO 2 and SiN x /Si 3 N 4 superlattices. The annealed SiO x N y /Si 3 N 4 superlattices are investigated by TEM, demonstrating a precise sublayer thicknesses control. The PL spectra of the annealed SiO x N y /Si 3 N 4 superlattices are centered at 845–950 nm with an expected PL peak shift for silicon nanocrystals of different sizes albeit the PL intensity is drastically reduced as compared to SiO 2 separation barriers. The comparison of PL spectra of annealed SiO x N y /Si 3 N 4 superlattice with those of SiO x N y /SiO 2 superlattice enables the analysis of the interface quality of silicon nanocrystals. Using the literature data, the number of the interface defects and their distribution on the nanocrystal facets are estimated. Finally, it is shown that the increase of the Si 3 N 4 barrier thickness leads to the increased energy transfer from the Si nanocrystals into the Si 3 N 4 matrix, which explains an additional drop of the nanocrystal PL intensity.

Description: The pre- and current collision of the Juan Fernández Ridge with the central Chilean margin at 31°–33°S is characterized by large-scale crustal thinning and long-term subsidence of the submarine forearc caused by subduction erosion processes. Here, we study the structure of the central Chilean margin in the ridge–trench collision zone by using wide-angle and multichannel seismic data. The transition from the upper to middle continental slope is defined by a trenchward dipping normal scarp with variable offsets of 500–2000 m height. Beneath the scarp, the 2-D velocity–depth models show a prominent lateral velocity contrast of 〉1 s –1 that propagates deep into the continental crust defining a major lateral seismic discontinuity. The discontinuity is interpreted as the lithological contact between the subsided/collapsed outermost forearc (composed of eroded and highly fractured volcanic rocks) and the seaward part of the uplifted Coastal Cordillera (made of less fractured metamorphic/igneous rocks). Extensional faults are abundant in the collapsed outermost forearc, however, landward of the continental slope scarp, both extensional and compressional structures are observed along the uplifted continental shelf that forms part of the Coastal Cordillera. Particularly, at the landward flank of the Valparaíso Forearc Basin (32°–33.5°S), shallow crustal seismicity has been recorded in 2008–2009 forming a dense cluster of thrust events of M w 4–5. The estimated hypocentres spatially correlate with the location of the fault scarp, and they highlight the upper part of the seismic crustal discontinuity.

Description: Predictive coding theories posit that neural networks learn statistical regularities in the environment for comparison with actual outcomes, signaling a prediction error (PE) when sensory deviation occurs. PE studies in audition have capitalized on low-frequency event-related potentials (LF-ERPs), such as the mismatch negativity. However, local cortical activity is well-indexed by...

Description: Following previous work on the Colorado Basin using a 3D crustal structural model, we now investigate the presence of lower crustal bodies at the base of the crust using 3D lithospheric gravity modelling and calculations of the conductive thermal field. Our first study highlighted two fault directions and depocentres associated with thinned crust (NW-SE in the West and NE-SW at the distal margin). Fault relative chronology argues for two periods of extension: (1) NW-SE faulting and thinning in the western Colorado Basin and (2) NE-SW faulting and thinning related to the continental breakup and formation of the NE-SW-striking volcanic margins of the Atlantic Ocean. In this study, the geometry of modelled high-density Lower Crustal Bodies (LCBs) enables the reproduction of the gravimetric field as well as of the temperature measured in wells down to 4500 m. The modelled LCBs correlate with geological observations: (1) NW-SE LCBs below the deepest depocentres in the West, (2) NE-SW LCBs below the distal margin faults and the seaward dipping reflectors. Thus the proposed poly-phased evolution of the margin could as well correspond to two emplacement phases of the LCBs. The calculated conductive thermal field fits the measured temperatures best if the thermal properties (thermal conductivity and radiogenic heat production) assigned to the LCBs correspond to either high-grade metamorphic rocks or to mafic magmatic intrusions. To explain the possible lithology of the LCBs, we propose that the two successive phases of extension are accompanied by magma supply, emplaced (1) in the thinnest crust below the older NW-SE depocentres, then (2) along the NE-SW continentward boundary of the distal margin and below the volcanic seaward dipping reflectors. The South African conjugate margin records only the second NE-SW event and we discuss hypotheses which could explain these differences between the conjugate margins.