Electromagnetic, gravimetric and seismic measurements to investigate the Tristan da Cunha hot spot and its role in the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean (MARKE) - Cruise No. MSM24 - December 27, 2012 - January 21, 2013 - Walvis Bay (Namibia) - Cape Town (South Africa) ...

• Main Author: Geissler, Wolfram H
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: DFG-Senatskommission für Ozeanographie 2014
• Subjects: Earth Science; Earth sciences and geology; Tristan; South Atlantic Ocean
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.2312/cr_msm24; https://www.tib.eu/suchen/id/awi:bbcf5c36e661555d78a550965c335d600a683ab8

According to classical plume theory, the Tristan da Cunha hotspot is thought to have played a major role in the rifting of the South Atlantic margins and the creation of the aseismic Walvis Ridge by impinging at the base of the continental lithosphere shortly before or during the breakup of the South Atlantic margins. However, Tristan da Cunha is enigmatic as it cannot be clearly identified as a hot spot but may also be classified as a more shallow type of anomaly that may actually have been caused by the opening of the South Atlantic. The equivocal character of Tristan is largely due to a lack of geophysical data in this region. It is of central importance to characterize the region around Tristan da Cunha with geophysical data in a more coherent way to understand the tectonic processes of the opening of the South Atlantic and the formation of the Walvis Ridge, i.e. to understand whether Tristan da Cunha is the cause or the consequence of the rifting. We therefore staged a multi-disciplinary geophysical ... : MARIA S. MERIAN-Berichte ...