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Post 3.9 Ma fault activity within the West Antarctic rift system: onshore evidence from Gandalf Ridge, Mount Morning eruptive centre, southern Victoria Land, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2010

Adam P. Martin  and
Alan F. Cooper
Adam P. Martin*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
Alan F. Cooper
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
*
adammartin2000@yahoo.com
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Abstract

A hawaiite dyke dated at 3.88 ± 0.05 Ma from the Mount Morning eruptive centre intrudes a diamictite deposit at Gandalf Ridge in the southern Ross Sea. The dyke has been dextrally offset up to 6 m horizontally by faults interpreted as the onshore continuation of the West Antarctic rift system (WARS) fault array. Felsic dykes emplaced during the Miocene are also present at Gandalf Ridge. The offset of the Miocene dykes is equivalent to the offset on the hawaiite dyke, suggesting that at this locality movement on faults within WARS has been restricted to a period more recent than c. 3.88 Ma. Over this period the minimum average rate of movement on these faults within WARS is 0.0015 mm yr-1.

Keywords

continental riftingdiamictiteErebus volcanic provincefault movementslip ratetectonics
Type
Earth Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 22 , Issue 5 , October 2010 , pp. 513 - 521
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2010

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