The margins of the South Orkney microcontinent

King, Edward C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3793-3915; Barker, Peter F.. 1988 The margins of the South Orkney microcontinent. Journal of the Geological Society, 145 (2). 317-331. https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.145.2.0317

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.145.2.0317

Abstract/Summary

Marine geophysical studies of the South Orkney microcontinent show two intersecting tectonic fabrics of different age. The older fabric is oriented E-W, and represents the magmatic arc and fore-arc created by subduction-related processes at the Pacific margin during the Mesozoic. The younger, oriented NNW to SSE, comprises half-graben related to E-W rifting at both the eastern and western margins of the microcontinent. Both fabrics provide constraints on a 40 Ma reconstruction, which shows a highly systematic distribution of arc and fore-arc provinces and points to the importance of E-W strike-slip in regional tectonic evolution. The rifting, apparently of Oligocene age, is associated with back-arc extension which created the oceanic basins to either side of the microcontinent. This strongly supports the existence of subduction with the same orientation as the present South Sandwich arc as far back as 35 or 40 Ma.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.145.2.0317
ISSN:	0016-7649
Additional Keywords:	geophysical methods, Mesozoic plate tectonics, Scotia Sea islands, South Orkney Islands, tectonophysics
Date made live:	21 Nov 2018 09:21 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/521648

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.145.2.0317

ISSN:

0016-7649

Additional Keywords:

geophysical methods, Mesozoic plate tectonics, Scotia Sea islands, South Orkney Islands, tectonophysics

Date made live:

21 Nov 2018 09:21 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/521648