Marine Science Faculty Publications
Pito and Orongo Fracture Zones: the Northern and Southern Boundaries of the Easter Microplate (southeast Pacific)
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1988
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(88)90123-9
Abstract
The Easter (Rapanui) microplate is a case example of a large dual spreading center system in a region where the fastest seafloor spreading on Earth is occurring today. Recent theoretical models of the tectonic evolution of dual spreading center systems have explored the effects of shear and rigid rotation on the boundaries and internal structure of microplates but the models must be critically constrained by improved relative motion and structural fabric data sets.
During the January 1987 Rapanui expedition on the N/O “Jean Charcot” we conducted a Sea Beam/magnetics/ gravity survey of a portion of the microplate boundaries. The method that was used was to fully map selected portions of the boundaries in order to establish precise structural relationships. The northern terminus of the East Rift or eastern boundary of the microplate is expressed as a series of parallel NW-SE trending valleys including what appears to be, with 5890 m depth, the deepest active rift axis mapped in the Pacific today (Pito Rift).
The northern end of the Pito Rift merges with an E-W to 083° narrow band of linear faults interpreted to be a transform fault between the Nazca and Easter (Rapanui) plates.
The northern triple junction between the Easter (Rapanui), Nazca and Pacific plates is a RFF type with the two transform faults colinear along an approximately E-W direction.
The southwestern boundary of the Easter (Rapanui) microplate is marked by a series of en-echelon offsets, outlined by depressions, which merge into an approximately E-W zone where shear must be predominant.
The southern triple junction is a RRF junction with an overlapping ridge system.
The structural data acquired during the survey provide strong constraints for kinematic models of the microplate. The structural data need to be combined with crustal age determinations in order to derive a model for the evolution of the microplate.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
No
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 89, issue 3-4, p. 363-374
Scholar Commons Citation
Francheteau, J.; Patriat, P.; Segoufin, J.; Armijo, R.; Doucoure, M.; Yelles-Chaouche, A.; Zukin, J.; Calmant, S.; Naar, D. F.; and Searle, R. C., "Pito and Orongo Fracture Zones: the Northern and Southern Boundaries of the Easter Microplate (southeast Pacific)" (1988). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 2241.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/2241
