Abstract
An improved Gondwanaland reconstruction compatible with geological and geophysical information from the surrounding oceans and continents seems to require microplates to solve the enigmatic pre-early-Mesozoic tectonic relation between West and East Antarctica1. New multi-channel seismic reflection data from the southeastern Weddell Sea acquired during the 1984–85 Norwegian Antarctic Research Expedition (NARE) have outlined a linear WSW–ENE-trending basement ridge buried below the continental slope over a distance of 700 km. This structural high truncates the trend of the large sedimentary basins below the Filchner and Ronne ice shelves and may continue to within a few hundred kilometres of the Antarctic Penninsula. We interpret the basement ridge as part of the East Antarctic plate boundary during the break-up of Gondwana. The morphology and structure of this boundary show greater apparent similarity to a rifted or obliquely rifted margin than to the sheared margin which is predicted by current reconstructions2,3. A linear East Antarctic plate margin extending to the vicinity of the Antarctic Peninsula makes any post-rift micro-plate motion in the Weddell Embayment unlikely.
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
Dalziel, I. W. D. & Elliot, D. Tectonics 1, 3–19 (1982).
Norton, I. O. & Sclater, J. G. J. geophys. Res. 84, 6803–6830 (1979).
Lawver, L. A., Sclater, J. G. & Meinke, L. Tectonophysics 114, 233–255 (1985).
Hinz, K. & Krause, W. Geol. Jb. 23, 17–41 (1982).
Masolov, V. N. in Geophysical Investigations in Antarctica, 16–28 (NIIGA, Leningrad, 1980; transl. from Russian).
Barker, P. F. & Jahn, R. A. Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc. 63, 271–283 (1980).
Haugland, K., Kristoffersen, Y. & Velde, A. Tectonophysics 114, 293–315 (1985).
LaBrecque, J. L. & Barker, P. F. Nature 290, 489–492 (1981).
Sandwell, D. T. J. geophys. Res. 89, 11401–11413 (1984).
Rabinowitz, P. D. & LaBrecque, J. L. J. geophys. Res. 84, 5973–6002 (1979).
Sibuet, J. G. & Mascle, J. J. geophys. Res. 83, 3401–3421 (1978).
Mutter, J. C. Tectonophysics 114, 117–131 (1985).
Hjelle, A. & Winsnes, T. in Antarctic Geology and Geophysics 539–547 (Universitets forlaget, Oslo, 1972).
Furnes, H. & Mitchell, J. G. Norsk Polarinst. Skr. 169, 45–68 (1978).
Spaeth, G. in Proc. 6th Gondwana Symp., Columbus, Ohio (American Geophysics Union, in the press).
Elliot, D. in Antarctic Earth Science, 347–351 (Cambridge University Press, 1983).
Grikurov, G. et al. in Geophysical Investigations in Antarctica, 29–43 (NIIGA, Leningrad, 1980; trans. from Russian).
Miller, H., Lippmann, E. & Kallerhoff, W. Rep. Pol. Res. 19, 116–129 (1984).
Rowley, P. D. et al. in Antarctic Earth Science 245–250 (Cambridge University Press, 1983).
Meneilly, A. W., Harrison, S. M., Piercy, B. A. & Storey, B. C. in Proc. 6th Gondwana Symp. (American Geophysical Union, in the press).
Drewry, D. J. in Antarctica: Glaciological and Geophysical Folio 2 (Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, 1983).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kristoffersen, Y., Haugland, K. Geophysical evidence for the East Antarctic plate boundary in the Weddell Sea. Nature 322, 538–541 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/322538a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/322538a0
This article is cited by
-
The geological history and evolution of West Antarctica
Nature Reviews Earth & Environment (2020)
-
On the geologic structure of the Explora Escarpment (Weddell Sea, Antarctica) revealed by satellite and Shipboard data evaluation
Marine Geophysical Researches (1994)
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.
