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Roller-bearing tectonic evolution of the Juan Fernandez microplate

Nature volume 356, pages 571–576 (1992)Cite this article

Abstract

A combined GLORIA sidescan and Hydrosweep multi-narrow-beam sonar survey shows striking evidence for fan-shaped spreading systems, bounding pseudofaults and compression ridges associated with 90° of clockwise rotation of the Juan Fernandez microplate in the past 4 Myr. A quantitative analysis of this evolution suggests that the microplate has rotated as a rigid 'roller bearing' for most of its history, driven at its edges by shear between the surrounding major plates. The remarkable similarity between the Juan Fernandez and Easter microplates, despite their different tectonic settings, suggests that this is a general model for microplate tectonics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, Rhode Island, 02882, USA

    R. L. Larson & R. T. Bird

  2. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Durham, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK

    R. C. Searle & R. I. Rusby

  3. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543, USA

    M. C. Kleinrock, H. Schouten & E. E. Hooft

  4. Department of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida, 33701, USA

    D. F. Naar

  5. MIT/WHOI Joint Program, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543, USA

    E. E. Hooft

  6. Department of Geology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B1, Canada

    H. Lasthiotakis

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Larson, R., Searle, R., Kleinrock, M. et al. Roller-bearing tectonic evolution of the Juan Fernandez microplate. Nature 356, 571–576 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/356571a0

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