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Microplate tectonics along a superfast seafloor spreading system near Easter Island

Abstract

There is a growing Easter microplate between the Pacific and Nazca plates. The eastern and western boundaries of the microplate are actively spreading and propagating north and south, respectively. The northern and southern boundaries are broad transform zones. Most of the interior of the microplate contains the sort of oblique sheared structures characteristic of zones of transferred lithosphere between propagating and failing spreading centres.

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Hey, R., Naar, D., Kleinrock, M. et al. Microplate tectonics along a superfast seafloor spreading system near Easter Island. Nature 317, 320–325 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/317320a0

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