Comment on 'The Geometry of Propagating Rifts' by D.P. McKenzie.

摘要

The ability to predict the geometry of structural elements associated with propagating rift systems is an important aspect of understanding accretion and deformation processes along midocean ridges. McKenzie contributed significantly by elegantly calculating the expected kinematics of tectonic elements and passive lithospheric markers for a continuously moving propagator system with evenly distributed simple shear occurring in a migrating broad transform zone of McKenzie. This modelling predicts curvature of abyssal lineations similar to that found at the Galapagos 95.5 deg W propagator system. (Kleinrock and Hey and Phipps Morgan and Kleinrock extended this work by showing that several non-uniform shear distributions developed as perturbations to McKenzie's models also result in satisfactory geometric predictions; they used observed lineation trends to estimate the actual strain distribution). Keywords: Reprints. (kr)