Gravity Anomalies Along the East Scotia Ridge: Constraining the Relative Importance of Magmatic and Tectonic Controls on Crustal Accretion ...

• Main Author: Nicholson, Briton Lee
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Old Dominion University 2012
• Subjects: Scotia Sea
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25777/hb4s-j551; https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_etds/368/

Similar to regions such as the Lau Basin and the Caribbean Sea, the eastern Scotia Sea is a geologically complex area that involves multiple plate boundary types. This study uses bathymetry and gravity data to infer upper mantle geodynamics in the eastern Scotia Sea region. Beneath this region is an intermediate-rate back-arc spreading center known as the East Scotia Ridge (ESR) that forms the boundary between the Scotia and Sandwich plates. To the east of the ESR are the South Sandwich island arc and the South Sandwich Trench. The ESR is a relatively young feature, with spreading estimated to have begun ~20 Ma (Livermore, 2003). Earlier studies examining trends in bathymetry and geochemistry along the north-south striking ESR ( e.g., Livermore, 2003) suggested that westward-directed flow from the Bouvet plume, located approximately 2000 km to the east, may affect ridge magmatic processes at segments near the slab ends, particularly in the north. In this investigation mantle Bouguer anomaly (MBA) is ...