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
Scholar Commons Citation
Hey, R. N.; Johnson, P. D.; Martinez, F.; Korenaga, J.; Somers, M. L.; Huggett, Q. J.; LeBas, T. P.; Rusby, R. I.; and Naar, D. F., "Plate Boundary Reorganization at a Large-offset, Rapidly Propagating Rift" (1995). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 2223.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/2223
