47. STRUCTURE AND EVOLUTION OF THE CENTRAL KERGUELEN PLATEAU DEDUCED FROM SEISMIC STRATIGRAPHIC STUDIES AND DRILLING AT SITE 7471

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Broken Ridge; Kerguelen; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.559.5057; http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/120_SR/VOLUME/CHAPTERS/sr120_47.pdf

The structure and evolution of the Central Kerguelen Plateau (CKP), located between 54°-57°S and 61°-84°E, is derived from the seismic stratigraphic interpretation of multichannel seismic data and from Ocean Drilling Program results at Site 747. The CKP formed 120-110 m.y. ago by excessive volcanic activity at the axis of the spreading ridge that separated India from Antarctica. At 72 Ma, a major pre-rift tectonic episode stretched the basement of the CKP in an east-west direction; the 77°E Graben consists of several rift units, somewhat similar to the structure observed in the East African continental rift system. At 42 Ma, the breakup between the Kerguelen Plateau and Broken Ridge was accompanied by a period of nonsedimentation of about 15-m.y. duration. After the breakup, the sedimentation was generally continuous but evolved during the Pliocene-Pleistocene in response to climate changes.