@article {becel_evidence_2020,
	title = {Evidence for a Prolonged Continental Breakup Resulting From Slow Extension Rates at the Eastern North American Volcanic Rifted Margin},
	journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth},
	volume = {125},
	number = {9},
	year = {2020},
	note = {_eprint: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2020JB020093},
	pages = {e2020JB020093},
	abstract = {When continental rifting is accompanied by localized magmatism under extensional stress, the breakup duration can be short and the continent/ocean transition sharp, as mantle melts are thought to be efficient at heating and weakening the lithosphere. This mode of rifting has been invoked for the Eastern North American Margin (ENAM) based on the existing geophysical data. Here, we present results from multichannel seismic profiles from the ENAM Community Seismic Experiment offshore North Carolina, U.S. Our survey area encompasses both the East Coast Magnetic Anomaly (ECMA) and the Blake Spur Magnetic Anomaly (BSMA), which lies 200-km farther seaward. Our prestack depth-migrated seismic images reveal major changes in the structure of the igneous crust across the BSMA. Between the ECMA and BSMA, we image a proto-oceanic domain of rough, faulted, and thin igneous crust. The roughness of this oceanic crust is similar to modern ultraslow spreading environments which involve the continued presence of a pre-existing lithospheric lid. Seaward of the BSMA the basement is smooth, and the crust is relatively thick, which is typical for Jurassic oceanic crust. Across the BSMA, we image a step up in basement and crustal root, which we interpret to represent complete lithospheric breakup and a transition to steady-state seafloor spreading in agreement with coincident refraction results. Our results would also indicate low extension rates in the final stages of rifting that may have influenced the thermal structure of the lithosphere and could explain the delay for continental breakup. All of these observations show that although continental rifting between eastern North America and northwest Africa was assisted by magmatic activity, it did not lead to rapid localization of extensional strain as previously thought.},
	keywords = {Central Atlantic opening, continental breakup, continental margin, proto-oceanic crust, steady-state seafloor spreading, volcanic rifted margin},
	issn = {2169-9356},
	doi = {10.1029/2020JB020093},
	url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2020JB020093},
	author = {B{\'e}cel, Anne and Davis, Joshua K. and Shuck, Brandon D. and Van Avendonk, Harm J. A. and Gibson, James C.}
}
@article {shuck_role_2019,
	title = {The role of mantle melts in the transition from rifting to seafloor spreading offshore eastern North America},
	journal = {Earth and Planetary Science Letters},
	volume = {525},
	year = {2019},
	month = {nov},
	pages = {115756},
	abstract = {The Eastern North American Margin (ENAM) formed in the early Jurassic (\~{}195 Ma) with the breakup of supercontinent Pangea. This rifting event was accompanied by volcanism along the continental shelf of the eastern United States, giving rise to the East Coast Magnetic Anomaly (ECMA). Numerical models show that magmatic diking can assist rifting by reducing the effective stress required to rupture the lithosphere. Therefore, magma-rich rifts can develop a rapid transition from continental breakup to seafloor spreading. Alternatively, the onset of seafloor spreading may be accompanied by a long period of persistent thermal weakening and erosion of the lithosphere. In this paper we present analyses of active-source wide-angle seismic data collected during the 2014 ENAM Community Seismic Experiment in an area that extends farther offshore than previous seismic surveys along the eastern U.S. Seaward of the ECMA lies a zone of thin oceanic crust with high compressional seismic velocity (up to 7.5 km/s in the lower crust), whereas thicker normal oceanic crust lies \~{}200 km farther offshore along another prominent magnetic anomaly, the Blake Spur Magnetic Anomaly (BSMA). We reconcile our seismic images with a petrologic model to evaluate the mantle melting conditions during the late stages of continental breakup and early seafloor spreading in the Central Atlantic. We propose that the zone of thin crust between the ECMA and BSMA with high seismic velocity is best explained by the presence of a \~{}15{\textendash}20 km thick lithospheric lid at the time of early seafloor spreading, which prevented melting in the shallow mantle. Our analysis suggests that the volcanism that produced the nearshore ECMA did not lead to complete lithospheric breakup of the conjugate North American and African margins. Normal seafloor spreading began at the BSMA under a moderately high mantle potential temperature of \~{}1395{\textendash}1420{\textdegree}C, \~{}25 million years after the initial formation of the volcanic margin. These results imply that stretching, thermal weakening, and rupture of the lithosphere may take millions of years, even in the presence of mantle melts.},
	keywords = {continent-ocean transition, continental rifting, eastern North American margin, mantle melting, oceanic crust, seismic tomography},
	issn = {0012-821X},
	doi = {10.1016/j.epsl.2019.115756},
	url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X19304480},
	author = {Shuck, Brandon D. and Van Avendonk, Harm J. A. and B{\'e}cel, Anne}
}
@article {shillington_composition_2004,
	title = {Composition and structure of the central Aleutian island arc from arc-parallel wide-angle seismic data},
	journal = {Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems},
	volume = {5},
	number = {10},
	year = {2004},
	note = {_eprint: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2004GC000715},
	abstract = {New results from wide-angle seismic data collected parallel to the central Aleutian island arc require an intermediate to mafic composition for the middle crust and a mafic to ultramafic composition for the lower crust and yield lateral velocity variations that correspond to arc segmentation and trends in major element geochemistry. The 3-D ray tracing/2.5-D inversion of this sparse wide-angle data set, which incorporates independent phase interpretations and new constraints on shallow velocity structure, produces a faster and smoother result than a previously published velocity model. Middle-crustal velocities of 6.5{\textendash}7.3 km/s over depths of \~{}10{\textendash}20 km indicate an andesitic to basaltic composition. High lower-crustal velocities of 7.3{\textendash}7.7 km/s over depths of \~{}20{\textendash}35 km are interpreted as ultramafic-mafic cumulates and/or garnet granulites. The total crustal thickness is 35{\textendash}37 km. This result indicates that the Aleutian island arc has higher velocities, and thus more mafic compositions, than average continental crust, implying that significant modifications would be required for this arc to be a suitable building block for continental crust. Lateral variations in average crustal velocity (below 10 km) roughly correspond to trends in major element geochemistry of primitive (Mg \# > 0.6) lavas. The highest lower-crustal velocities (and presumably most mafic material) are detected in the center of an arc segment, between Unmak and Unalaska Islands, implying that arc segmentation exerts control over crustal composition.},
	keywords = {continental crust, crustal geophysics, island arc, major element geochemistry},
	issn = {1525-2027},
	doi = {10.1029/2004GC000715},
	url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2004GC000715},
	author = {Shillington, Donna J. and Van Avendonk, Harm J. A. and Holbrook, W. Steven and Kelemen, Peter B. and Hornbach, Matthew J.}
}
