Abstract
An outstanding problem in Antarctic tectonics is the relationship between the East Antarctic craton and the late Palaeozoic-Cenozoic orogenic belts that comprise Western Antarctica1 (Antarctic Peninsula, Ellsworth Land, Eights Coast and Marie Byrd Land; see Fig. 1a). Related problems are the place of Western Antarctica in reconstructions of Gondwanaland and the evolution of the Pacific margin of Gondwanaland. We present here palaeomagnetic data derived from folded Cambrian argillites that crop out in the Ellsworth Mountains which were collected during the 1979–80 austral field season. Although the early Palaeozoic palaeomagnetic field of Gondwanaland is characterized by rapid apparent polar wander, at the present level of coverage, the data are consistent with rotation of the Ellsworth Mountain block with respect to the East Antarctic craton, as postulated by Schopf2. This result supports a microplate nature of Western Antarctica.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Elliot, D. H. Am. J. Sci. 275A, 45–106 (1975).
Schopf, J. M. Science 164, 63–66 (1969).
Craddock, C. Am. Geogr. Soc. Antarctic Map Folio Ser. 12, Plate 19 (1969); in Antarctic Geology and Geophysics, 449–455 (Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, 1972); in Gondwana Geology, 609–618 (Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1975).
Dalziel, I. W. D. & Elliot, D. H. in The Ocean Basins and Margins Vol. 1, 171–245 (Plenum, New York, 1973).
deWit, M. J. Tectonophysics 37, 53–82 (1977).
Stump, E. On the Late Precambrian-Early Paleozoic Metavolcanic and Metasedimentary Rocks of the Queen Maud Mountains, Antarctica, and a Comparison with Rocks of Similar Age from Southern Africa (Ohio State University, Columbus, 1976).
Dalziel, I. W. D. in Antarctic Geoscience (University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, in the press).
Ford, A. B. in Antarctic Geology and Geophysics, 419–425 (Universitetsforlaget, Oslo,1972).
Splettstoesser, J. F. & Webers, G. F. Antarct. Jl U.S. 15, 36–39 (1980).
Zijderveld, J. D. A. in Methods in Palaeomagnetism, 254–286 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1967).
Dunlop, D. J. Phys. Earth planet. Inter. 20, 12–24 (1979).
Scotese, C. R., Bambach, R. K., Barton, C. Van der Voo, R & Ziegler, A. M. J. Geol. 87, 217–278 (1979).
McClelland-Brown, E. thesis, Univ. Leeds (1980).
Watts, D. R. Van der Voo, R. & Reeve, S. C. J. geophys. Res. 85, 5316–5330 (1980).
Klootwijk, C. T. Tectonophysics 64, 249–332 (1980).
McQueen, D. M., Scharnberger, C. K., Scharon, L. & Halpern, M. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 16, 433–438 (1972).
Fisher, R. A. Proc. R. Soc. A217, 295–305 (1953).
Creer, K. M., Irving, E. & Runcorn, S. K. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A250, 144–156 (1957).
Morris, W. A. & Carmichael, C. M., Can, J. Earth Sci. 15, 253–259 (1978).
Davies, J., Nairn, A. E. M. & Ressetar, R. J. geophys. Res. 85, 3699–3711 (1980).
McElhinny, M. W. & Embleton, B. J. J. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A280, 471–481 (1976).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Watts, D., Bramall, A. Palaeomagnetic evidence for a displaced terrain in Western Antartica. Nature 293, 638–640 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/293638a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/293638a0
This article is cited by
-
The Skytrain plate and tectonic evolution of southwest Gondwana since Jurassic times
Scientific Reports (2020)
-
The geological history and evolution of West Antarctica
Nature Reviews Earth & Environment (2020)
-
Plate tectonics: Microplates in Antartica
Nature (1986)
-
Are the Falkland Islands a rotated microplate?
Nature (1986)
-
Zur Fazies der Karbonatgesteine in den Ellsworth Mountains (Paläozoikum, Westantarktis)
Facies (1982)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
