Marine Science Faculty Publications

Plate Boundary Reorganization at a Large-offset, Rapidly Propagating Rift

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1995

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1038/378167a0

Abstract

THE existence of rapidly spinning microplates along the southern East Pacific Rise has been documented by geophysical swath-mapping surveys1–6, and their evolution has been successfully described by an edge-driven kinematic model7. But the mechanism by which such microplates originate remains unknown. Proposed mechanisms1–10 have generally involved rift propagation11, possibly driven by hotspots or changes in direction of sea-floor spreading. Here we present geophysical data collected over the Earth's fastest spreading centre, the Pacific–Nazca ridge between the Easter and Juan Fernandez microplates (Fig. 1), which reveal a large-offset propagating rift presently reorganizing the plate boundary geometry. A recent episode of rapid 'duelling' propagation of the historically failing spreading centre in this system has created a 120 × 120 km overlap zone between dual active spreading centres, which may be the initial stage of formation of a new microplate.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

Yes

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Nature, v. 378, p. 167-170

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