Tectonic evolution and midplate volcanism in the South Pacific
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution February 1999 Changes in morphology of the Marquesas Fracture Zone are correlated with small changes in Pacific-Farall...
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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ftwhoas:oai:darchive.mblwhoilibrary.org:1912/4688 2023-05-15T15:33:57+02:00 Tectonic evolution and midplate volcanism in the South Pacific Jordahl, Kelsey A. South Pacific 1999-02 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4688 en_US eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution WHOI Theses https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4688 doi:10.1575/1912/4688 doi:10.1575/1912/4688 Structural geology Plate tectonics Volcanism Maurice Ewing (Ship) Cruise EW9109 Maurice Ewing (Ship) Cruise EW9602 Roger Revelle (Ship) Cruise KIWI03 Thesis 1999 ftwhoas https://doi.org/10.1575/1912/4688 2022-05-28T22:58:25Z Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution February 1999 Changes in morphology of the Marquesas Fracture Zone are correlated with small changes in Pacific-Farallon relative motion. The simple flexural signal of a locked fracture zone may be obscured by tectonic effects, and there is no evidence for the release of shear stress on the fracture zone by vertical slip after leaving the active transform. One such small change in plate motion is documented in the South ern Austral Island region of the South Pacific. A twelve degree clock wise change in Pacific-Farallon relative motion occurred around fifty million years ago. This Eocene change in spreading direction and rate is locally constrained with observations of magnetic anomalies and spreading fabric orientation. At the southeastern end of the Cook-Austral Island chain, multiple episodes of volcanism have left a diverse population of seamounts. Volume estimates from geophysical data and modeling show that one-half to two-thirds of the volcanic material is over thirty million years old, while the remainder is less than five million years old. Seismic and bathymetric data imply the presence of abyssal basalt flows in the flexural moat of the Austral Islands, probably associated with Austral Islands volcanism, which may contribute a significant amount of material to the archipelagic apron. The research presented in Chapter 2 was supported by National Science Founda tion grants OCE-9012949 and OCE-9012529. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 were supported by National Science Foundation grant OCE-9415930. A National Science Foundation graduate fellowship supported my first three years of graduate study. Thesis Austral Island Woods Hole Scientific Community: WHOAS (Woods Hole Open Access Server) Austral Pacific Maurice ENVELOPE(-55.817,-55.817,-63.133,-63.133) Ewing ENVELOPE(-61.257,-61.257,-69.924,-69.924) Austral Island ENVELOPE(110.650,110.650,-66.500,-66.500) Woods Hole, MA |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Woods Hole Scientific Community: WHOAS (Woods Hole Open Access Server) |
op_collection_id |
ftwhoas |
language |
English |
topic |
Structural geology Plate tectonics Volcanism Maurice Ewing (Ship) Cruise EW9109 Maurice Ewing (Ship) Cruise EW9602 Roger Revelle (Ship) Cruise KIWI03 |
spellingShingle |
Structural geology Plate tectonics Volcanism Maurice Ewing (Ship) Cruise EW9109 Maurice Ewing (Ship) Cruise EW9602 Roger Revelle (Ship) Cruise KIWI03 Jordahl, Kelsey A. Tectonic evolution and midplate volcanism in the South Pacific |
topic_facet |
Structural geology Plate tectonics Volcanism Maurice Ewing (Ship) Cruise EW9109 Maurice Ewing (Ship) Cruise EW9602 Roger Revelle (Ship) Cruise KIWI03 |
description |
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution February 1999 Changes in morphology of the Marquesas Fracture Zone are correlated with small changes in Pacific-Farallon relative motion. The simple flexural signal of a locked fracture zone may be obscured by tectonic effects, and there is no evidence for the release of shear stress on the fracture zone by vertical slip after leaving the active transform. One such small change in plate motion is documented in the South ern Austral Island region of the South Pacific. A twelve degree clock wise change in Pacific-Farallon relative motion occurred around fifty million years ago. This Eocene change in spreading direction and rate is locally constrained with observations of magnetic anomalies and spreading fabric orientation. At the southeastern end of the Cook-Austral Island chain, multiple episodes of volcanism have left a diverse population of seamounts. Volume estimates from geophysical data and modeling show that one-half to two-thirds of the volcanic material is over thirty million years old, while the remainder is less than five million years old. Seismic and bathymetric data imply the presence of abyssal basalt flows in the flexural moat of the Austral Islands, probably associated with Austral Islands volcanism, which may contribute a significant amount of material to the archipelagic apron. The research presented in Chapter 2 was supported by National Science Founda tion grants OCE-9012949 and OCE-9012529. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 were supported by National Science Foundation grant OCE-9415930. A National Science Foundation graduate fellowship supported my first three years of graduate study. |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Jordahl, Kelsey A. |
author_facet |
Jordahl, Kelsey A. |
author_sort |
Jordahl, Kelsey A. |
title |
Tectonic evolution and midplate volcanism in the South Pacific |
title_short |
Tectonic evolution and midplate volcanism in the South Pacific |
title_full |
Tectonic evolution and midplate volcanism in the South Pacific |
title_fullStr |
Tectonic evolution and midplate volcanism in the South Pacific |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tectonic evolution and midplate volcanism in the South Pacific |
title_sort |
tectonic evolution and midplate volcanism in the south pacific |
publisher |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |
publishDate |
1999 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4688 |
op_coverage |
South Pacific |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-55.817,-55.817,-63.133,-63.133) ENVELOPE(-61.257,-61.257,-69.924,-69.924) ENVELOPE(110.650,110.650,-66.500,-66.500) |
geographic |
Austral Pacific Maurice Ewing Austral Island |
geographic_facet |
Austral Pacific Maurice Ewing Austral Island |
genre |
Austral Island |
genre_facet |
Austral Island |
op_source |
doi:10.1575/1912/4688 |
op_relation |
WHOI Theses https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4688 doi:10.1575/1912/4688 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1575/1912/4688 |
op_publisher_place |
Woods Hole, MA |
_version_ |
1766364527700475904 |