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<ref name=Galindo-Zaldivar>{{cite book|last1=Galindo-Zaldivar|first1=Jesus|last2=Gamboa|first2=Luiz|last3=Maldonado|first3=Andres|last4=Nakao|first4=Seizo|last5=Bochu|first5=Yao|title=Antarctica: Contributions to global earth sciences|date=2006|publisher=Spring-verlag|location=New York|pages=243-248}}</ref><ref name="Eulalia Gracia">{{cite journal|last1=Gracia|first1=Eulalia|last2=Canals|first2=Miquel|last3=Farran|first3=Marcel|last4=Prieto|first4=Maria|last5=Sorribas|first5=Jordi|last6=Team|first6=Gebra|title=Morphostructure and Evolutionn of the Central and Eastern Bransfield Basins (NW Antarctic Peninsula|journal=Marine Geophysical Researches|date=1995|volume=18|pages=429-448}}</ref> It is believed that the Pheonix plate stopped subducting under the Antarctic plate at least 4 million years ago during the [[Pliocene]].<ref name=Schreider /><ref name=Lawver /><ref name=Galindo-Zaldivar /><ref name="Eulalia Gracia" />. Once the subduction event ceased, it is believed that the extension that created the basin was initiated. [[Aeromagnetic_survey|Aeromagnetic surveys]] have provided evidence that the extension occurred 1.8 Million years ago during the [[Pleistocene]] at a rate of 0.25 to 0.75 cenimeters per year. <ref name="Eulalia Gracia" />
<ref name=Galindo-Zaldivar>{{cite book|last1=Galindo-Zaldivar|first1=Jesus|last2=Gamboa|first2=Luiz|last3=Maldonado|first3=Andres|last4=Nakao|first4=Seizo|last5=Bochu|first5=Yao|title=Antarctica: Contributions to global earth sciences|date=2006|publisher=Spring-verlag|location=New York|pages=243-248}}</ref><ref name="Eulalia Gracia">{{cite journal|last1=Gracia|first1=Eulalia|last2=Canals|first2=Miquel|last3=Farran|first3=Marcel|last4=Prieto|first4=Maria|last5=Sorribas|first5=Jordi|last6=Team|first6=Gebra|title=Morphostructure and Evolutionn of the Central and Eastern Bransfield Basins (NW Antarctic Peninsula|journal=Marine Geophysical Researches|date=1995|volume=18|pages=429-448}}</ref> It is believed that the Pheonix plate stopped subducting under the Antarctic plate at least 4 million years ago during the [[Pliocene]].<ref name=Schreider /><ref name=Lawver /><ref name=Galindo-Zaldivar /><ref name="Eulalia Gracia" />. Once the subduction event ceased, it is believed that the extension that created the basin was initiated. [[Aeromagnetic_survey|Aeromagnetic surveys]] have provided evidence that the extension occurred 1.8 Million years ago during the [[Pleistocene]] at a rate of 0.25 to 0.75 cenimeters per year. <ref name="Eulalia Gracia" />


It is widely accepted that the Bransfield basin formed from extension caused by [[Oceanic trench|slab rollback]].<ref name=Schreider /><ref name=Lawver /><ref name=Galindo-Zaldivar /><ref name="Eulalia Gracia" /> New geophysical and structural data contradicts previously believed theories about slab rollback being the main mechanism for the opening of the basin.<ref name=García group=García>{{cite journal|last1=García|first1=Marga|last2=Ercilla|first2=Gemma|last3=Alonso|first3=Belen|title=Morphology and sedimentary systems in the Central Bransfield Basin, Antarctic Peninsula: sedimentary dynamics fromshelf to basin|journal=Basin Research|date=2009|volume=21|pages=295-314}}</ref><ref name=González-Casado>{{cite journal|last1=González-Casado|first1=José|last2=Jorge|first2=Giner-Robles|last3=Jerónimo|first3=López-Martínez|title=Bransfield Basin, Antarctic Peninsula: Not a normal backarc basin|journal=Geology|date=November 2000|volume=28|issue=11|pages=1043–1046}}</ref> A newer theory for the opening of the basin is attributed to [[Sinistral and dextral|sinistral strike-slip motion]] between the [[Scotia Plate]] and Antarctic plates.<ref name=González-Casado>{{cite journal|last1=González-Casado|first1=José|last2=Jorge|first2=Giner-Robles|last3=Jerónimo|first3=López-Martínez|title=Bransfield Basin, Antarctic Peninsula: Not a normal backarc basin|journal=Geology|date=November 2000|volume=28|issue=11|pages=1043–1046}}</ref>
It is widely accepted that the Bransfield basin formed from extension caused by [[Oceanic trench|slab rollback]].<ref name=Schreider /><ref name=Lawver /><ref name=Galindo-Zaldivar /><ref name="Eulalia Gracia" /> New geophysical and structural data contradicts previously believed theories about slab rollback being the main mechanism for the opening of the basin.<ref name=García group=García>{{cite journal|last1=García|first1=Marga|last2=Ercilla|first2=Gemma|last3=Alonso|first3=Belen|title=Morphology and sedimentary systems in the Central Bransfield Basin, Antarctic Peninsula: sedimentary dynamics fromshelf to basin|journal=Basin Research|date=2009|volume=21|pages=295-314}}</ref><ref name=González-Casado>{{cite journal|last1=González-Casado|first1=José|last2=Jorge|first2=Giner-Robles|last3=Jerónimo|first3=López-Martínez|title=Bransfield Basin, Antarctic Peninsula: Not a normal backarc basin|journal=Geology|date=November 2000|volume=28|issue=11|pages=1043–1046}}</ref> A newer theory for the opening of the basin is attributed to [[Sinistral and dextral|sinistral strike-slip motion]] between the [[Scotia Plate]] and Antarctic plates.<ref name=González-Casado>{{cite journal|last1=González-Casado|first1=José|last2=Jorge|first2=Giner-Robles|last3=Jerónimo|first3=López-Martínez|title=Bransfield Basin, Antarctic Peninsula: Not a normal backarc basin|journal=Geology|date=November 2000|volume=28|issue=11|pages=1043–1046}}</ref> It is theorized that the trench between the the Phoenix and Antarctic plates is locked in place and there is not any motion. The new data suggests [[Oceanic trench|trench retreat]] is not attributed as a mechanism for extension because there is a lack of seismic activity in the South Shetland Trench area, and that slab rollback is not a mechanism for extension too because if it were then Northwest-Southeast extension should be observed in the entire South Shetland region but instead compression can be observed.<ref name=González-Casado>{{cite journal|last1=González-Casado|first1=José|last2=Jorge|first2=Giner-Robles|last3=Jerónimo|first3=López-Martínez|title=Bransfield Basin, Antarctic Peninsula: Not a normal backarc basin|journal=Geology|date=November 2000|volume=28|issue=11|pages=1043–1046}}</ref>





Revision as of 23:27, 21 February 2015

Bransfield Basin
This map of Antarctica and the bottom portion of South America shows the locations of Bransfield Strait, Drake Passage, and Scotia Arc.
TypeBack-arc basin
Location
RegionNorthwest of the Antarctic Peninsula
Type section
CountryAntarctica


The Bransfield Basin is a Back-arc rift basin located off the Northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The basin lies within a Northeast and Southwest trending strait that separates the peninsula from the nearby South Shetland Islands to the Northwest.[García 1]The basin extends for more than 500 kilometers from Smith Island to a portion of the Hero Fracture Zone.[1] The basin can be subdivided into three basins: Western, Central, and Eastern.[2] The Western basin is 130 kilometers long by 70 kilometers wide with a depth of 1.3 kilometers, the Central basin is 230 kilometers long by 60 kilometers wide with a depth of 1.9 kilometers, and the Eastern basin is 150 kilometers long by 40 kilometers wide with a depth of over 2.7 kilometers.[2]

Tectonic Development

Schematic cartoon of the Bransfield Basin tectonic setting.

The Bransfield Basin is considered to be a back-arc basin that is located behind the South Shetland Islands. The Islands are believed to have formed from a subduction event that occurred between the Phoenix Plate and the Antarctic plate roughly 200 million years ago during the Mesozoic.[3] [4][5] It is believed that the Pheonix plate stopped subducting under the Antarctic plate at least 4 million years ago during the Pliocene.[2][3][4][5]. Once the subduction event ceased, it is believed that the extension that created the basin was initiated. Aeromagnetic surveys have provided evidence that the extension occurred 1.8 Million years ago during the Pleistocene at a rate of 0.25 to 0.75 cenimeters per year. [5]

It is widely accepted that the Bransfield basin formed from extension caused by slab rollback.[2][3][4][5] New geophysical and structural data contradicts previously believed theories about slab rollback being the main mechanism for the opening of the basin.[García 1][1] A newer theory for the opening of the basin is attributed to sinistral strike-slip motion between the Scotia Plate and Antarctic plates.[1] It is theorized that the trench between the the Phoenix and Antarctic plates is locked in place and there is not any motion. The new data suggests trench retreat is not attributed as a mechanism for extension because there is a lack of seismic activity in the South Shetland Trench area, and that slab rollback is not a mechanism for extension too because if it were then Northwest-Southeast extension should be observed in the entire South Shetland region but instead compression can be observed.[1]






Geology

Cross section of the Bransfield Basin during alternating phases of glaciation










Natural Resources

See Also

References

  1. ^ a b c d González-Casado, José; Jorge, Giner-Robles; Jerónimo, López-Martínez (November 2000). "Bransfield Basin, Antarctic Peninsula: Not a normal backarc basin". Geology. 28 (11): 1043–1046.
  2. ^ a b c d Schreider, Al.; Schreider, A.; Evsenko, E. (2014). "The Stages of the Development of the Basin of the Bransfield Strait". Oceanology. 54 (3): 365–373.
  3. ^ a b c Lawver, Lawrence; Keller, Randall; Fisk, Martin; Strelin, Jorge (1995). Backarc Basins: Tectonics and Magmatism. New York: Plenum Press. pp. 316–342.
  4. ^ a b c Galindo-Zaldivar, Jesus; Gamboa, Luiz; Maldonado, Andres; Nakao, Seizo; Bochu, Yao (2006). Antarctica: Contributions to global earth sciences. New York: Spring-verlag. pp. 243–248.
  5. ^ a b c d Gracia, Eulalia; Canals, Miquel; Farran, Marcel; Prieto, Maria; Sorribas, Jordi; Team, Gebra (1995). "Morphostructure and Evolutionn of the Central and Eastern Bransfield Basins (NW Antarctic Peninsula". Marine Geophysical Researches. 18: 429–448.


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