The southern end of the Shackleton Fracture Zone is subducted below the South Shetland forearc, while the basal detachment of the forearc continues eastward of the Shackleton ridge as a thrust fault. The western boundary between the Antarctic/Scotia plates is located at the eastern margin of the Shackleton ridge, where an elongated depositional basin and a morphological trough delineates the contact. The boundary of the Antarctic/Scotia plates and the South Shetland forearc form a triple junction at the intersection of the Shackleton Fracture Zone with the trench, between these two plates, and an independent South Shetland block.
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