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1.
To facilitate geological analyses of the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea (Japan Sea) between Korea and Japan, shipborne and satellite altimetry-derived gravity data are combined to derive a regionally coherent anomaly field. The 2-min gridded satellite altimetry-based gravity predicted by Sandwell and Smith [Sandwell DT, Smith WHF (1997) J Geophys Res 102(B5):10,039–10,054] are used for making cross-over adjustments that reduce the errors between track segments and at the cross-over points of shipborne gravity profiles. Relative to the regionally more homogeneous satellite gravity anomalies, the longer wavelength components of the shipborne anomalies are significantly improved with minimal distortion of their shorter wavelength components. The resulting free-air gravity anomaly map yields a more coherent integration of short and long wavelength anomalies compared to that obtained from either the shipborne or satellite data sets separately. The derived free-air anomalies range over about 140 mGals or more in amplitude and regionally correspond with bathymetric undulations in the Ulleung Basin. The gravity lows and highs along the basin’s margin indicate the transition from continental to oceanic crust. However, in the northeastern and central Ulleung Basin, the negative regional correlation between the central gravity high and bathymetric low suggests the presence of shallow denser mantle beneath thinned oceanic crust. A series of gravity highs mark seamounts or volcanic terranes from the Korean Plateau to Oki Island. Gravity modeling suggests underplating by mafic igneous rocks of the northwestern margin of the Ulleung Basin and the transition between continental and oceanic crust. The crust of the central Ulleung Basin is about a 14–15 km thick with a 4–5 km thick sediment cover. It may also include a relatively weakly developed buried fossil spreading ridge with approximately 2 km of relief.  相似文献   

2.
The Ulleung Basin (Tsushima Basin) in the southwestern East Sea (Japan Sea) is floored by a crust whose affinity is not known whether oceanic or thinned continental. This ambiguity resulted in unconstrained mechanisms of basin evolution. The present work attempts to define the nature of the crust of the Ulleung Basin and its tectonic evolution using seismic wide-angle reflection and refraction data recorded on ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs). Although the thickness of (10 km) of the crust is greater than typical oceanic crust, tau-p analysis of OBS data and forward modeling by 2-D ray tracing suggest that it is oceanic in character: (1) the crust consists of laterally consistent upper and lower layers that are typical of oceanic layers 2 and 3 in seismic velocity and gradient distribution and (2) layer 2C, the transition between layer 2 and layer 3 in oceanic crust, is manifested by a continuous velocity increase from 5.7 to 6.3 km/s over the thickness interval of about 1 km between the upper and lower layers. Therefore it is not likely that the Ulleung Basin was formed by the crustal extension of the southwestern Japan Arc where crustal structure is typically continental. Instead, the thickness of the crust and its velocity structure suggest that the Ulleung Basin was formed by seafloor spreading in a region of hotter than normal mantle surrounding a distant mantle plume, not directly above the core of the plume. It seems that the mantle plume was located in northeast China. This suggestion is consistent with geochemical data that indicate the influence of a mantle plume on the production of volcanic rocks in and around the Ulleung Basin. Thus we propose that the opening models of the southwestern East Sea should incorporate seafloor spreading and the influence of a mantle plume rather than the extension of the crust of the Japan Arc.  相似文献   

3.
Ferromanganese crusts comparable with central Pacific occurrences with respect to thickness and extension have been discovered at the Tropic Seamount in the subtropical NE Atlantic. A comparison with typical hydrogenetic crusts from a central Pacific seamount revealed lower concentration of the Mn phase with Mn, Co, Ni, Zn, and Cu but a strongly increased terrigenous input of Fe, Pb, Al, and Si in the Atlantic crusts. Growth rates are increased compared with the Pacific crusts, and crust ages average at 10 My. The old phosphatized crust generation that started to grow about 20 My ago on the Pacific seamounts is not pronounced at the Tropic Seamount. The typical hydrographic and morphological parameters for hyrogenetic crust growth have also been found at the Tropic Seamount, which implies that the Tropic Seamount crusts have developed according to the hydrogenetic growth model. There are no indications of hydrothermal influence.  相似文献   

4.
The volumes and ages of small isolated seamounts from both fracture zone and normal crust settings are related to the chemical composition of their lavas. Small volcanoes on or near ridge crests are composed of LIL-depleted ocean ridge tholeiite and are later capped successively by alkalic basalt and alkalic differentiated lavas as they drift away from the ridge. In addition, it appears that contemporaneous seamount volcanism is tholeiitic near the ridge crest and alkalic on the ridge flanks. No significant differences are found between the chemical compositions of lavas from small seamounts located on fracture zones and those on normal oceanic crust.  相似文献   

5.
A widespread seamount province, the Rano Rahi Field, is located near the superfast spreading Southern East Pacific Rise (SEPR) between 15°–19° S. Particularly abundant volcanic edifices are found on Pacific Plate aged 0 to 6.5 Ma between 17°–19° S, an area greater than 100,000 km2. The numbers of seamounts and their volume are several times greater than those of a comparablysurveyed area near the Northern East Pacific Rise (NEPR), 8°–17° N. Most of the Rano Rahi seamounts belong to chains, which vary in length from 25 km to >240 km and which are very nearly collinear with the Pacific absolute and relative plate motion directions. Bends of 10°–15° occur along a few of the chains, and some adjacent chains converge or diverge slightly. Many seamount chains have fluctuations in volume along their length, and statistical tests suggest that some adjacent chains trade-off in volume. Several seamount chains split into two lines of volcanoes approaching the axis. In general, seamount chains composed of individual circular volcanoes are found near the axis; the chains consist of variably-overlapping edifices in the central part of the survey; to the west, volcanic ridges predominate. Near the SEPR, the volume of nearaxis seamount edifices is generally reduced near areas of deflated cross-sectional area of the axial ridge. Fresh lava flows, as imaged by sidescan sonar and sampled by dredging, exist around some seamounts throughout the entire survey area, in sharp contrast to the absence of fresh flows beyond 30 km from the NEPR. Also, the increases in seamount abundance and volume extend to much greater crustal ages than near the NEPR. Seamount magnetization analysis is also consistent with this wider zone of seamount growth, and it demonstrates the asynchronous formation of most of the seamount chains and volcanic ridges. The variety of observations of the SEPR seamounts suggests that a number of factors and mechanisms might bring about their formation, including the mantle upwelling associated with superfast spreading, off-axis mantle heterogeneities, miniplumes and local upwelling, and the vulnerability of the lithosphere to penetration by volumes of magma. In particular, we note the association of extensive, recent volcanism with intermediate wavelength gravity lineaments lows on crust aged 6 Ma. This suggests that the lineaments and some of the seamounts share a common cause which may be related to ridge-perpendicular asthenospheric convection and/or some manner of extension in the lithosphere.  相似文献   

6.
Heck and Heckle are seamount chains trending approximately northwest on the western flank of Juan de Fuca Ridge near its northern end. Evidence from magnetic anomalies and from chemistry and relative ages of dredged basalt suggests that the seamounts in these chains are produced near the spreading centre on Juan de Fuca Ridge and do not continue to grow as they are carried away by sea-floor spreading. Their development is possibly related to transverse fractures on Juan de Fuca Ridge resulting from reorientation of the ridge from north to north-northeast which began about 8 m.y. ago, combined with tension in the Pacific Plate. In contrast the Eickelberg Chain to the south may have been produced by a fixed-mantle plume now located near Juan de Fuca Ridge, as suggested by limited basalt geochemistry and by the long and productive life of that chain. The Pratt-Welker Chain may also have been produced by a mantle plume, but most other seamounts on the western flanks of Juan de Fuca and Explorer ridges are thought to have formed at crustal fractures near the spreading centres in the same way as the seamounts of the Heck and Heckle chains.  相似文献   

7.
We investigated the deformation in the accretionary wedge associated with subducted seamounts in the northern Manila Trench by combining observations from seismic profiles and results from laboratory sandbox experiments. From three seismic reflection profiles oriented approximately perpendicular to the trench, we observed apparent variations in structural deformation along the trench. A number of back-thrust faults were formed in the accretionary wedge where subducted seamounts were identified. In contrast, observable back-thrusts were quite rare along the profile without seamounts, indicating that seamount subduction played an important role in deformation of the accretionary wedge. We then conducted laboratory sandbox experiments to investigate the effects of subducted seamounts on the structural deformation of the accretionary wedge. From the analog modeling results we found that seamount subduction could cause well-developed back-thrusts, gravitational collapse, and micro-fractures in the wedge. We also found that a seamount may induce normal faults in the wedge and that normal faults may be eroded by subsequent seamount subduction. In addition, we constrained the crustal structure of the South China Sea plate from modeling free-air gravity data. The dip angle of the subducting plate, which was constrained by hypocenters of available earthquakes, increased from south to north in the northern Manila Trench. We found a laterally heterogeneous density distribution of the oceanic crust according to the gravity data. The density of subducted crust is ~2.92 g/cm3, larger than that of the South China Sea crust (2.88 g/cm3).  相似文献   

8.
Hydrosweep mapping of crust in the Central Indian Ocean Basin reveals abundant volcanoes ocurring both as isolated seamounts and linear seamount chains parallel to flow lines. Their shapes, sizes and overall style of occurrence are indistinguishable from near-axis seamounts in the Pacific. Evidence from seamount morphology, distributions and petrography of dredged samples suggests that they were generated near the fast-spreading Southeast Indian Ridge at 50–60 Ma. If so, this style of near-axis seamount generation may be a result of fast-spreading rate rather than a peculiarity of the present Pacific spreading ridges. In fact, the results of several recent studies, taken together, suggest that the style of axis/near-axis seamount volcanism varies systematically as a function of spreading rate.  相似文献   

9.
The Eratosthenes Seamount is a continental fragment undergoing collision with Cyprus along the African-Eurasian plate boundary. High-resolution seismic and deep-tow sonar data revealed that extensional deformation is occurring over most of the seamount, whereas compressional deformation was observed within the trench basin to the north and also in the asymmetric basin south of the seamount. This recent tectonic activity has triggered the development of slumps, turbidites and fluid escape structures. Although the 'staircase' bathymetry is similar to that of subducting oceanic seamounts, the distribution and characteristics of structures which develop during collision-subduction are very different.  相似文献   

10.
大洋海山及其生态环境特征研究进展   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  
海山作为深海大洋独特地貌,尽管其研究可追溯到100多年前,但对大洋海山的形成、地质特征、动力学特性、生态环境等方面了解甚少。随着人们认识海洋程度的提升,特别是回声探测、无人潜水器和卫星技术等技术的应用,对大洋海山的系统探索已取得了前所未有的进展,大洋海山研究已成为当代人们所渴求探索的领域之一。本文对大洋海山的研究历程、分类、生物群落特征、水文环境特征以及维持海山区高生物量的机制进行了总结。目前全球海山主要有两种分类方式,其分类一是基于构造特征,可将海山分为板块内海山、大洋中脊海山和岛弧海山;二是基于山顶到海表面的距离,可将海山分为浅海山、中等深度海山和深海山。海山为生物提供了独特的栖息地,形成了高生物量、高生物多样性和高生物独有性等三种主要的生物群落特征,使海山成为世界海洋渔业的重点海域和生态环境研究的热点区域之一。海山突出的地形对大洋环流造成阻隔,因而在海山周围形成了其独特的水文环境,其中海山环流和上升流是其两种典型代表,这些独特的水文环境特征对生物群落的组成和分布具有重要影响。海山区的高生物量主要通过上升流输送、地形诱捕和海流水平输送三种机制维持,三种机制对支撑海山生态系统的物质循环和能量流动至关重要。  相似文献   

11.
Research on seamounts provides some of the best constraints for understanding intraplate volcanism, and samples from seamounts reveal crucial evidence about the geochemical makeup of the oceanic mantle. There are still many seamounts in the West Pacific Seamount Province(WPSP) that have not been studied, meaning their ages and geochemistry remain unknown. A better understanding of these seamount trails and their evolutionary history, investigated with age and geochemistry data, will enable better understanding of the geological processes operating underneath the Pacific Ocean Plate. Here, new ~(40)Ar/~(39) Ar ages and trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic data for seven basalt rocks from four seamounts in the WPSP are provided. Chemically, these rocks are all Oceanic Island Alkali basalt(OIA type); analysis of olivine phenocrysts shows that the magmas experienced strong olivine fractionation and changed from olivine + plagioclase to olivine + plagioclase + clinopyroxene cotectic during their evolution. Rare earth element(REE) patterns and a spider diagram of the samples in this study show OIB(Ocean Island Basalt) like behavior. The range of ~(87)Sr/~(86) Sr values is from 0.704 60 to 0.706 24, the range of ~(206)Pb/~(204) Pb values is from 18.241 to 18.599, and the range of ~(143)Nd/~(144) Nd values is from 0.512 646 to 0.512 826; together, these values indicate magma sources ranging from EMI to EMII. Finally, new ~(40)Ar/~(39) Ar age data show that these seamounts formed at ～97 and ～106 Ma, indicating that some may have undergone the same formation processes as seamounts in the eastern part of the Magellan Seamount Trail, but other seamounts likely have different origins.  相似文献   

12.
中西太平洋海山形态类型与钴结壳资源分布关系   总被引：4，自引：1，他引：3       下载免费PDF全文
通过对中西太平洋海山形态剖面的山体高度、山顶直径、基底直径、山顶直径与基底直径之比、山体坡度、山体高度与基底直径比值六个参数多元统计分析,发现可以根据山体高度与基底直径的比值对海山形态类型进行分类:比值小于0.10的为平顶海山(Ⅰ类),大于0.10的为尖顶海山(Ⅱ类),对于等于0.10的海山需参考平坦度和山体坡度,平坦度大和山体坡度缓的为Ⅰ类,反之为Ⅱ类。西太平洋的麦哲伦海山区、马绍尔群岛基本以平顶海山为主,介于中西太平洋之间的威克—马尔库斯海山区和中太平洋海山区、莱恩群岛平顶海山与尖顶海山共同发育。对各种类型海山上钴结壳分布研究发现,无论是在尖顶海山还是在平顶海山,板状结壳均比较发育,但砾状结壳在平顶海山比在尖顶海山的发育。中太平洋尖顶海山的结壳比平顶海山的发育,但由于山顶面积小,钴结壳资源量不大。仅从平顶海山看,在麦哲伦海山区、威克—马尔库斯海山区板状结壳比中太平洋海山区、马绍尔群岛、莱恩群岛的板状结壳发育,前者的板状结壳平均厚度大于3 cm,后者的板状结壳平均厚度小于3 cm,总体上是西太平洋平顶海山钴结壳比中太平洋平顶海山的发育。两种类型海山各方向上的资源分布明显不同,在平顶海山的西部山坡的资源比东部山坡的丰富,尖顶海山的则刚好相反。  相似文献   

13.
In the Ulleung Basin, East Sea, the Dok Do seamount group comprises Dok Do (Dok Island), consisting of very small islets/rocks and a large submerged volcanic edifice, and two voluminous tablemounts, Simheungtaek and Isabu. We attempted to reconstruct the evolution of these seamounts, using virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) determined by the least-squares and the seminorm magnetization methods, with 1,500 m upward continued magnetic anomalies. The VGPs of Dok Do with normal dipole anomaly, and of Simheungtaek with normal dipole anomaly are located near the present magnetic pole. The VGP of Isabu with normal dipole anomaly is located at low latitude, presumably due to overprints of reversals in the Tertiary, and the distortion of magnetization and structures associated with volcanism after its formation. In contrast to the tablemounts, magnetic anomalies over Dok Do are a combination of both normal polarity and reversed polarity dipoles in the northern hemisphere, indicating that Dok Do has had at least two major eruptions, one during normal and another during reversed polarity intervals. From these results, and information on the ages of the seamounts (either published radiometric ages of subaerial volcanic rocks, or ages reconstructed in terms of reported elastic thickness incorporated into an existing cooling plate model), we tentatively propose that (1) Isabu formed first, during a normal polarity interval after the opening of the East Sea had ceased; (2) this was followed by an initial and subsequent large eruption of Dok Do during a normal polarity and a reversed polarity interval after about 5 Ma; and (3) the formation of Simheungtaek occurred in between that of Isabu and Dok Do in a normal polarity interval. The pattern of normal/reversed magnetization is not inconsistent with the geomagnetic polarity timescale for at least the last 5 Ma. Nevertheless, precise ages of formation would need verification by additional geophysical/geochemical constraints. Evaluating various possible models explaining the successive formation of the Dok Do seamounts, we currently favor fracturing and volcanism related to compression-induced weakening of the extensional field from the late Miocene to Pliocene after the opening of the East Sea.  相似文献   

14.
Observations from 17 ALVIN dives and 14 ANGUS runs plus laboratory study of basalt samples collected with ALVIN help to constrain the morphologic, volcanic and petrologic evolution of four seamounts near the East Pacific Rise (EPR). Comparison among the four volcanoes provides evidence for a general pattern of near-EPR seamount evolution and shows the importance of sedimentation, mass wasting, hydrothermal activity and other geologic processes that occur on submerged oceanic volcanoes. Seamount 5, closest to the EPR (1.0 Ma) is the youngest seamount and may still be active. Its summit is covered by fresh lavas, recent faults and hydrothermal deposits. Seamount D is on crust 1.55 Ma and is inactive; like seamount 5, it has a breached caldera and is composed exclusively of N-MORB. Seamounts 5 and D represent the last stages of growth of typical N-MORB-only seamounts near the EPR axis. Seamounts 6 and 7 have bumpy, flattish summits composed of transitional and alkalic lavas. These lavas probably represent caldera fillings and caps overlying an edifice composed of N-MORB. Evolution from N-MORB-only cratered edifices to the alkalic stage does not occur on all near-EPR seamounts and may be favored by location on structures with relative-motion-parallel orientation.  相似文献   

15.
南海东北部陆缘构造演化信息丰富,对于理解南海的演化过程至关重要。本文收集了南海东北部的深反射地震和海底广角地震成果剖面,提取地壳和下地壳高速层的厚度结果,并结合水深、重磁异常和岩石圈的流变学等地质地球物理资料,对南海东北部的地壳减薄特征、吕宋-琉球转换板块边界的性质和下地壳高速层的分布及成因进行了分析和讨论。南海东北部的地壳减薄在横向和垂向上都存在不均匀性,以下地壳减薄为主,在台西南盆地存在极端减薄地壳;南海北缘的白云凹陷、西沙海槽和西缘的中建南盆地也存在类似的极端减薄地壳,且都与刚性地块共轭或邻近,推测刚性地块的存在导致地壳初始破裂时下地壳流动和地幔上隆是局部出现地壳极端减薄的主要原因。吕宋-琉球转换板块边界两侧在海底地形、新生代反射和重磁异常等方面均存在差异,与中生代岛弧引起的高磁异常大角度相交,其可能是中生代古特提斯构造域向太平洋构造域转换的边界断裂。下地壳高速层在南海东北部广泛发育,结合其分布特征和波速比Vp/Vs的分布区间,认为其是多期次岩浆底侵形成的铁镁质基性岩。  相似文献   

16.
Zooplankton metabolic rates, determined from electron transfer system (ETS) activity, were studied at two seamounts (Seine: 34°N, 14°W, summit depth ∼170 m; Sedlo: 40°N, 27°W, summit depth ∼750 m) in the northeast (NE) Atlantic during three cruises in November 2003, April 2004 and July 2004. ETS activity and respiratory carbon demand were measured for samples taken at seamount and open-ocean locations in order to probe the hypothesis of locally enhanced seamount productivity. ETS activity and biomass revealed no consistent diel patterns of feeding activity and vertical migration at Seine and Sedlo Seamounts. Spatial differences of biomass-specific ETS activity were observed at both seamounts and coincided with differences in food abundance and quality. At Seine Seamount in April 2004, biomass-specific ETS activity was on average higher at the seamount locations compared to the open ocean, though the enhancement was of a lower magnitude than spatial and temporal variability and had no apparent influence on zooplankton respiratory carbon demand or biomass. A persistent pattern of reduced zooplankton biomass above the summit location at Seine Seamount in April 2004 and July 2004 resulted in a local reduction of respiratory carbon demand. At Sedlo Seamount in November 2003, large spatial differences in biomass-specific ETS activity observed at the seamount locations resulted in a large range of respiratory carbon demand at the seamount, but were not reflected in zooplankton biomass. The depth-integrated (0–150 m) median respiratory carbon demand of the zooplankton community estimated from day and night hauls was 2.1 mg C m−2 d−1 at Seine Seamount (range: 0.3–6.3) and 2.9 mg C m−2 d−1 at Sedlo Seamount (range: 1.6–12.0). The sporadic nature and low magnitude of locally higher zooplankton respiration rates at the seamounts, which did not result in locally higher zooplankton standing stock biomass, lead us to reject the hypothesis that locally enhanced seamount productivity provides an autochthonous food supply to the resident faunas at Seine and Sedlo Seamounts. Instead, we conclude that the faunas at both seamounts are more likely supported by advection of food from the surrounding ocean.  相似文献   

17.
Seamounts and knolls are ‘undersea mountains’, the former rising more than 1000 m from the seafloor. These features provide important habitats for aquatic predators, demersal deep-sea fish and benthic invertebrates. However most seamounts have not been surveyed and their numbers and locations are not well known. Previous efforts to locate and quantify seamounts have used relatively coarse bathymetry grids. Here we use global bathymetric data at 30 arc-sec resolution to identify seamounts and knolls. We identify 33,452 seamounts and 138,412 knolls, representing the largest global set of identified seamounts and knolls to date. We compare estimated seamount numbers, locations, and depths with validation sets of seamount data from New Zealand and Azores. This comparison indicates the method we apply finds 94% of seamounts, but may overestimate seamount numbers along ridges and in areas where faulting and seafloor spreading creates highly complex topography. The seamounts and knolls identified herein are significantly geographically biased towards areas surveyed with ship-based soundings. As only 6.5% of the ocean floor has been surveyed with soundings it is likely that new seamounts will be uncovered as surveying improves. Seamount habitats constitute approximately 4.7% of the ocean floor, whilst knolls cover 16.3%. Regional distribution of these features is examined, and we find a disproportionate number of productive knolls, with a summit depth of <1.5 km, located in the Southern Ocean. Less than 2% of seamounts are within marine protected areas and the majority of these are located within exclusive economic zones with few on the High Seas. The database of seamounts and knolls resulting from this study will be a useful resource for researchers and conservation planners.  相似文献   

18.
中太平洋海山群漂移史及其来源   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  
中太平洋海山群的海山呈簇状排列且近EW向展布于太平洋海山密集区，其四周分布着一系列NW走向的线性列岛及规模巨大的水下海山链。它位于明显属于海山链构造的夏威夷群岛和马绍尔群岛之间，处于莱恩群岛的北西向延伸方向上，与热点作用的板内火山作用关系密切。结合前人对中太平洋海山群形成和漂移的认识，从板块运动和几何学角度出发，采用Backtracking和Hot-spotting海山追踪方法对该区海山进行了追踪，发现该区海山的热点源主要位于现今法属玻利尼西亚群岛区（法属玻利尼西亚热点群），这与前人从古地磁和钻探资料出发得到的结果相接近。研究表明，中太平洋海山群是多热点成因的板内火山作用和板块构造运动的共同产物，它在130～90Ma期间起源于法属玻利尼西亚热点群，曾随着太平洋板块发生过向南和向北的运动，既有水平方向的漂移又有垂直方向上的升降，在漂移和升降过程中还受到了当时大规模多期的热点活动和断裂活动的改造作用，经过一个漫长的过程后才到达今天的位置，最后形成了现今呈簇状分布的海山群。  相似文献   

19.
This study presents comprehensive geotechnical data of the natural marine sediments cored from the hydrate occurrence regions during the Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Expedition 1 (UBGH1), East Sea, offshore Korea in 2007. Geotechnical soil index properties of the Ulleung Basin sediments, including grain size distribution, porosity, water content, Atterberg limits, specific gravity, and specific surface area, were experimentally determined. These soil index properties were correlated to geotechnical engineering parameters (e.g., shear strength and friction angle) by using well-known empirical relationships. By performing standard consolidation tests on both undisturbed specimens (as recovered from the original core liner after hydrate dissociation) and remolded specimens, stress-dependent mechanical and hydraulic properties (e.g., compressibility and hydraulic conductivity) were measured. The experimental results provide important engineering parameters, and demonstrate the effect of hydrate presence and consequential dissociation to index properties, engineering parameters, and innate sediment structures.  相似文献   

20.
The breakup of western margin of Australia from Greater India started around 155 Ma and progressed southwards. After the separation, the interceding intraplate region experienced large volumes of submarine volcanism, extending over 100 Myrs. The Christmas Island Seamount Province (CHRISP, as it has been dubbed) lies south of the Java-Sunda Trench, and contains numerous submerged volcanic seamounts, and two sub-aerially exposed island groups—Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Christmas Island. While recent geochronological investigations have shed light on the diverse eruption ages of the volcanics of this region, some islands/seamounts have demonstrated protracted volcanic histories, and it is not clear how the volcanic loading, tectonic subsidence, and subsequent emergence history of the islands relates to these discrete volcanic episodes. This study utilises a number of geophysical techniques to determine the crustal structure, loading and subsidence history, and last sub-aerial exposure age for the CHRISP. The study shows that flexural and subsidence modelling are reliable techniques in constraining the age of the seamounts when geochronological techniques are not possible. Utilising regional gravity signatures, we model the crustal structure underneath the Cocos (Keeling) Island, and constrain the thickness of the limestone cover between 900 and 2,100 m. Using age-depth subsidence curves for oceanic lithosphere the time since these seamounts were exposed above sea-level was determined, and a trend in exposure ages that youngs towards the west is observed. Two episodes of volcanism have been recorded at Christmas Island and they are of different origin. The younger phase in the Pliocene is a manifestation of flexure induced cracks produced in the lithosphere as it rides the subduction fore-bulge, whereas a low velocity seismic zone rising from the lower mantle, and tectonic reorganization, may be associated with the older Eocene volcanic phase, as well as much of the rest of the province. Our modelling also supports the existence of an older, undated volcanic core to Christmas Island, based on the loading ages from flexural modelling.  相似文献   

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