A MECHANISM FOR DECOUPLING WITHIN THE OCEANIC LITHOSPHERE REVEALED INTHE TROODOS OPHIOLITE

Contrasting kinematic histories recorded in the sheeted dykes and unde rlying plutonic rocks of the Troodos ophiolite provide a new perspecti ve on the mechanical evolution of oceanic spreading centres. The kinem atic framework of the decoupling zone that partitions deformation betw een the sheeted dykes and plutonics contrasts with low-angle detachmen t models for slow-spreading ridges based on continental-rift analogues . A model for the generation of multiple, horizontal decoupling horizo ns, linked by planar normal faults, demonstrates new possibilities for the kinematic and rheological significance of seismic reflectors in o ceanic lithosphere.