Geology of the continental margin of Enderby and Mac. Robertson Lands, East Antarctica: Insights from a regional data set

摘要

In 2001 and 2002, Australia acquired an integrated geophysical data set over the deep-water continental margin of East Antarcticaudfrom west of Enderby Land to offshore from Prydz Bay. The data include approximately 7700 km of high-quality, deep-seismicuddata with coincident gravity, magnetic and bathymetry data, and 37 non-reversed refraction stations using expendable sonobuoys.udIntegration of these data with similar quality data recorded by Japan in 1999 allows a new regional interpretation of this sector ofudthe Antarctic margin.udThis part of the Antarctic continental margin formed during the breakup of the eastern margin of India and East Antarctica, whichudculminated with the onset of seafloor spreading in the Valanginian. The geology of the Antarctic margin and the adjacent oceanicudcrust can be divided into distinct east and west sectors by an interpreted crustal boundary at approximately 58 E. Across thisudboundary, the continent–ocean boundary (COB), defined as the inboard edge of unequivocal oceanic crust, steps outboard fromudwest to east by about 100 km.udStructure in the sector west of 58 E is largely controlled by the mixed rift-transform setting. The edge of the onshore Archaean–udProterozoic Napier Complex is downfaulted oceanwards near the shelf edge by at least 6 km and these rocks are interpreted toudunderlie a rift basin beneath the continental slope. The thickness of rift and pre-rift rocks cannot be accurately determined with theudavailable data, but they appear to be relatively thin. The margin is overlain by a blanket of post-rift sedimentary rocks that are upudto 6 km thick beneath the lower continental slope.udThe COB in this sector is interpreted from the seismic reflection data and potential field modelling to coincide with the baseudof a basement depression at 8.0–8.5 s two-way time, approximately 170 km oceanwards of the shelf-edge bounding fault system.udOceanic crust in this sector is highly variable in character, from rugged with a relief of more than 1 km over distancesudof 10–20 km, to rugose with low-amplitude relief set on a long-wavelength undulating basement. The crustal velocity profileudappears unusual, with velocities of 7.6–7.95 km s)1 being recorded at several stations at a depth that gives a thickness ofudcrust of only 4 km. If these velocities are from mantle, then the thin crust may be due to the presence of fracture zones.udAlternatively, the velocities may be coming from a lower crust that has been heavily altered by the intrusion of mantleudrocks.udThe sector east of 58 E has formed in a normal rifted margin setting, with complexities in the east from the underlyingudstructure of the N–S trending Palaeozoic Lambert Graben. The Napier Complex is downfaulted to depths of 8–10 kmudbeneath the upper continental slope, and the margin rift basin is more than 300 km wide. As in the western sector, the riftstageudrocks are probably relatively thin. This part of the margin is blanketed by post-rift sediments that are up to aboutud8 km thick.udThe interpreted COB in the eastern sector is the most prominent boundary in deep water, and typically coincides with audprominent oceanwards step-up in the basement level of up to 1 km. As in the west, the interpretation of this boundary isudsupported by potential field modelling. The oceanic crust adjacent to the COB in this sector has a highly distinctive character,udcommonly with (1) a smooth upper surface underlain by short, seaward-dipping flows; (2) a transparent upper crustaludlayer; (3) a lower crust dominated by dipping high-amplitude reflections that probably reflect intruded or altered shears; (4)uda strong reflection Moho, confirmed by seismic refraction modelling; and (5) prominent landward-dipping upper mantleudreflections on several adjacent lines. A similar style of oceanic crust is also found in contemporaneous ocean basins thatuddeveloped between Greater India and Australia–Antarctica west of Bruce Rise on the Antarctic margin, and along the Cuvierudmargin of northwest Australia.