Ellsworth Mountains: Position in West Antarctica due to Sea-Floor Spreading

Similarities of middle and upper Paleozoic deposits of the Ellsworth Mountains with those of the Pensacola, Horlick, and other Transantarctic mountains indicate that all these ranges may have had a related geologic history. A tentative explanation is now suggested which involves sea-floor spreading...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Author: Schopf, James M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1969
Subjects:
Multidisciplinary
Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctica
East Antarctica
West Antarctica
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.164.3875.63
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.164.3875.63
Description
Summary:Similarities of middle and upper Paleozoic deposits of the Ellsworth Mountains with those of the Pensacola, Horlick, and other Transantarctic mountains indicate that all these ranges may have had a related geologic history. A tentative explanation is now suggested which involves sea-floor spreading and translocation of the Ellsworth crustal block from its original location adjacent to the East Antarctic Shield. Accordingly, the islands of West Antarctica may differ in origin and the Transantarctic Mountains of East Antarctica may represent one margin of an ancient rift.

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