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1.
Original results of igneous rock studies are presented. The rocks were dredged during a marine expedition (cruise 37 of R/V Akademik M.A. Lavrent’ev in August–September, 2005) in the region of the submarine Vityaz Ridge and Kuril Arc outer slope. Several age complexes (Late Cretaceous, Eocene, Late Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene-Pleistocene) are recognizable on the Vityaz Ridge. These complexes are characterized by a number of common geochemical features since all of them represent the formations of island arc calc-alkali series. At the same time, they also have individual features reflecting different geodynamic settings. The outer slope of the Kuril Arc demonstrates submarine volcanism. The Pliocene-Pleistocene volcanic rocks dredged here are similar to the volcanites of the Kuril-Kamchatka Arc frontal zone. 相似文献
2.
The location of the India-Arabia plate boundary prior to the formation of the Sheba ridge in the Gulf of Aden is a matter of debate. A seismic dataset crossing the Owen Fracture Zone, the Owen Basin, and the Oman Margin was acquired to track the past locations of the India-Arabia plate boundary. We highlight the composite age of the Owen Basin basement, made of Paleocene oceanic crust drilled on its eastern part, and composed of pre-Maastrichtian continental and oceanic crust overlaid by ophiolites emplaced in Early Paleocene on its western side. A major fossil transform fault system crossing the Owen Basin juxtaposed these two slivers of lithosphere of different ages, and controlled the uplift of marginal ridges along the Oman Margin. This transform system deactivated ∼40 Myrs ago, coeval with the onset of ultra-slow spreading at the Carlsberg Ridge. The transform boundary then jumped to the edge of the present-day Owen Ridge during the Late Eocene-Oligocene period, before seafloor spreading began at the Sheba Ridge. This migration of the plate boundary involved the transfer of a part of the Indian oceanic lithosphere formed at the Carlsberg Ridge to Arabia. This Late Eocene-Oligocene tectonic episode at the India-Arabia plate boundary is synchronous with a global plate reorganization event corresponding to geological events at the Zagros and Himalaya belts. The Owen Ridge uplifted later, in Late Miocene times, and is unrelated to any major migration of the India-Arabia boundary. 相似文献
3.
The paper reports the results of a geochemical study of volcanogenic rocks from the southern part of the Kyushu–Palau Ridge. Volcanic structures, such as plateaulike rises, mountain massifs, and single volcanoes, are the major relief-forming elements of the southern part of the Kyushu–Palau Ridge. They are divided into three types according to the features of the relief and geological structure: shield, cone-shaped, and dome-shaped volcanoes. The ridge was formed on oceanic crust in the Late Mesozoic and underwent several stages of evolution with different significance and application of forces (tension and compression). Change in the geodynamic conditions during the geological evolution of the ridge mostly determined the composition of volcanic rocks of deep-mantle nature. Most of the ridge was formed by the Early Paleogene under geodynamic conditions close to the formation of oceanic islands (shield volcanoes) under tension. The island arc formed on the oceanic basement in the compression mode in the Late Eocene–Early Oligocene. Dome-shaped volcanic edifices composed of alkaline volcanic rocks were formed in the Late Oligocene–Early Miocene under tension. Based on the new geochemical data, detailed characteristics of volcanic rocks making up the shield, cone-shape, and dome-shape stratovolcanoes resulting in the features of these volcanic edifices are given for the first time. Continuous volcanism (with an age from the Cretaceous to the Late Miocene and composition from oceanic tholeiite to calc-alkaline volcanites of the island arc type) resulting in growth of the Earth’s crust beneath the Kyushu–Palau Ridge was the major factor in the formation this ridge. 相似文献
4.
The petrographic and micropaleontological studies of the rocks in the sedimentary cover of the Primorye continental slope in the area of Vladimir Bay in the Sea of Japan made it possible to establish that the sedimentary cover is represented in this area by two different facial complexes of Late Miocene rocks. The first facial complex consists of terrigenous rocks (siltstones, sandstones, and conglomerates) that were accumulated under relatively shallow-water conditions of the shelf and the uppermost part of the continental slope. The second one is formed by diatomaceous-clayey rocks under more deep-water conditions, mainly in the upper part of the continental slope. The carbonate nodules that are widely distributed among the deposits of the first complex but are also recorded in the second one were formed as a result of diagenetic processes in the terrigenous or silicious-terrigenous sediments that had been formed. With respect to their age, the Late Miocene deposits are characterized by a full succession of diatomaceous zones over 10.0–5.5 mln yr. The sediments of the first facial complex accumulated during the first third of the Late Miocene (10.0–8.5 mln yr), while those of the second began to accumulate somewhat later, but their accumulation continued until the late Miocene (9.2–5.5 mln yr). 相似文献
5.
Youngho Yoon Gwang H. Lee Sanghoon Han Dong G. Yoo Hyun C. Han Kyungsik Choi Keumsuk Lee 《Marine and Petroleum Geology》2010
The petroleum system of the Kunsan Basin in the Northern South Yellow Sea Basin is not well known, compared to other continental rift basins in the Yellow Sea, despite its substantial hydrocarbon potential. Restoration of two depth-converted seismic profiles across the Central Subbasin in the southern Kunsan Basin shows that extension was interrupted by inversions in the Late Oligocene-Middle Miocene that created anticlinal structures. One-dimensional basin modeling of the IIH-1Xa well suggests that hydrocarbon expulsion in the northeastern margin of the depocenter of the Central Subbasin peaked in the Early Oligocene, predating the inversions. Hydrocarbon generation at the dummy well location in the depocenter of the subbasin began in the Late Paleocene. Most source rocks in the depocenter passed the main expulsion phase except for the shallowest source rocks. Hydrocarbons generated from the depocenter are likely to have migrated southward toward the anticlinal structure and faults away from the traps along the northern and northeastern margins of the depocenter because the basin-fill strata are dipping north. Faulting that continued during the rift phase (∼ Middle Miocene) of the subbasin probably acted as conduits for the escape of hydrocarbons. Thus, the anticlinal structure and associated faults to the south of the dummy well may trap hydrocarbons that have been charged from the shallow source rocks in the depocenter since the Middle Miocene. 相似文献
6.
中太平洋海山铁锰结壳生物地层学研究 总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2
用生物地层学方法对位于中太平洋同一座海山上的2块铁锰结壳样品进行了生物地层学详细研究,发现2块样品的生长层位对应,生物组合也相同.经鉴定,2块结壳的主要生长期都是晚古新世、中始新世至晚始新世、中中新世至上新世、上新世至更新世,2个主要的结壳生长间断分别在渐新世和早始新世. 相似文献
7.
New multibeam bathymetry data and multichannel seismic profiles over 7 detailed survey sites collected during cruise no. KNOXRR06 of the R/V Rodger Revelle in 2007 fundamentally expanded the concepts about the structure of the sedimentary cover of the Ninety-East Ridge, which were based on the results of previous studies. They allow making a step forward in interpreting the nature of the unconformities and deformations. The deformation pattern of the sedimentary cover suggests three stages of tectonic activity over the ridge during the Paleocene, Eocene, and Late Miocene. As suggested by the high present-day seismicity, the last stage might continue to the present time. In addition, indirect criteria indicate young intraplate volcanism at the last stage. New data is reviewed in the context of two models of the ridge formation. The first model follows a well-known concept of the ridge representing a trace of the Kerguelen hotspot. The second one relates large outflows of basalts to the development of a giant fracture under conditions of global extension, which continued later during the sedimentary cover formation. Additional integrated geological and geophysical studies are required for understanding the nature of this unique feature. 相似文献
8.
We reviewed the geological record of mangroves based on fossil pollen, fruits, and wood evidence of Nypa, Avicennia, Sonneratia, Rhizophoraceae, and mangrove associates to trace the origin, distribution, extinction, and range contraction of paleo‐mangroves during the Late Cretaceous–Miocene time. Our study region covers paleocoastal areas of Indo‐West Pacific (IWP) and Atlantic East Pacific (AEP) region. First, we compiled the mangrove fossil records from the Late Cretaceous till Miocene and identified the migration pattern for Nypa, Avicennia, Sonneratia, Rhizophoraceae members, and mangrove associates such as Acrostichum, Wetherellia, Pelliciera, Aegiceras, Heritiera, Excoecaria, and Barringtonia. Second, we interpreted the paleoclimate shifts which caused the dispersal/extinction of this specialized ecosystem. Lastly, we proposed the future consequences of mangrove diversity for restoration and conservation strategies. First mangroves appeared during the Late Cretaceous, 100–65 Ma, since then their evolution is closely related to sea‐level changes in geological times. The oldest geological record of Nypa palm which prefers broad ecological tolerance is a good example for pantropical distribution of mangroves. High sea‐level and humid climate offered sufficient coastal regions and climate for the development of 12 genera of mangroves in nine families and subsequent proliferation into newer areas during early to middle Eocene (~50–40 Ma). The Eocene/Oligocene boundary crisis heralds the beginning of a biogeographical split between the present‐day eastern and western provinces of mangroves with records of Sonneratia, Rhizophora, Pelliciera, Barringtonia, and Acrostichum. However, during Oligocene and Middle Miocene mangroves occupied the present geographical position with addition of Nypa, Avicennia, and Excoecaria species. Re‐evaluation of Cenozoic records suggests that the climatic conditions of Late Paleocene, end of Eocene, and middle Pliocene were the driving force that led to the evolution and expansion of mangrove flora. During the Neogene, latitudinal contraction, extinction, and migration of mangroves led to the present bipartite distribution. The Himalayan uplift and establishment of Asian summer monsoon toward Late Neogene further affected the coastal dynamics which tailored the mangrove distribution of the Indian subcontinent. Loss of ecological habitats and local extinction forming disjunct distribution of mangroves during the Quaternary have also affected its overall biogeography. 相似文献
9.
Gravity-flow sediments from the South Virgin Islands Trough Escarpment (west of the island of St. Croix) contain Late Cretaceous through Late Miocene nannofossils that are well mixed even within individual samples. These sediments, reworked and redeposited in latest Miocene or Early Pliocene, apparently occur within a sequence of Late Miocene-to-recent fan deposits. Marine source beds representing all pre-Pliocene epochs of the Cenozoic and latest Cretaceous must have been exposed along the NW-facing West St. Croix Escarpment. Southward tilting of the St. Croix Ridge has subsequently altered the depositional pattern. 相似文献
10.
Two petroleum source rock intervals of the Lower Cretaceous Abu Gabra Formation at six locations within the Fula Sub-basin, Muglad Basin, Sudan, were selected for comprehensive modelling of burial history, petroleum maturation and expulsion of the generated hydrocarbons throughout the Fula Sub-basin. Locations (of wells) selected include three in the deepest parts of the area (Keyi oilfield); and three at relatively shallow locations (Moga oilfield). The chosen wells were drilled to depths that penetrated a significant part of the geological section of interest, where samples were available for geochemical and source rock analysis. Vitrinite reflectances (Ro %) were measured to aid in calibrating the developed maturation models.The Abu Gabra Formation of the Muglad Basin is stratigraphically subdivided into three units (Abu Gabra-lower, Abu Gabra-middle and Abu Gabra-upper, from the oldest to youngest). The lower and upper Abu Gabra are believed to be the major source rocks in the province and generally contain more than 2.0 wt% TOC; thus indicating a very good to excellent hydrocarbon generative potential. They mainly contain Type I kerogen. Vitrinite reflectance values range from 0.59 to 0.76% Ro, indicating the oil window has just been reached. In general, the thermal maturity of the Abu Gabra source rocks is highest in the Abu Gabra-lower (deep western part) of the Keyi area and decreases to the east toward the Moga oilfied at the Fula Sub-basin.Maturity and hydrocarbon generation modelling indicates that, in the Abu Gabra-Lower, early oil generation began from the Middle- Late Cretaceous to late Paleocene time (82.0–58Ma). Main oil generation started about 58 Ma ago and continues until the present day. In the Abu Gabra-upper, oil generation began from the end of the Cretaceous to early Eocene time (66.0–52Ma). Only in one location (Keyi-N1 well) did the Abu Gabra-upper reach the main oil stage. Oil expulsion has occurred only from the Abu Gabra-lower unit at Keyi-N1 during the early Miocene (>50% transformation ratio TR) continuing to present-day (20.0–0.0 Ma). Neither unit has generated gas. Oil generation and expulsion from the Abu Gabra source rocks occurred after the deposition of seal rocks of the Aradeiba Formation. 相似文献
11.
N. G. Vashchenkova 《Oceanology》2008,48(6):855-863
Sedimentary rocks from the northern slope of the Kuril Deep-Water Basin are examined. Four different-age lithological units are distinguished, and inferences about the probable conditions of their formation are made. The Paleogene-Lower Miocene deposits (lithological units I and II) are represented by the purest varieties of siliceous rocks, which implies their accumulation far away from the source areas under quiet hydrodynamical conditions of the waters. The composition of the microfossils suggests a relatively shallow-water marine basin. The Pliocene-Pleistocene deposits of lithological units III and IV were formed in an active hydrodynamical environment under conditions of synchronous explosive volcanism at bathyal depths. The presence of porcelanite outcrops on the continental slope of the basin, together with the micropaleontological data about the paleodepths of the sedimentation, allows us to assume that, in the region studied, the continental slope was formed as a result of vertical motions in the post-Middle Miocene time. 相似文献
12.
Previous GPS-based geodetic studies and onland paleoseismologic studies in Trinidad have shown that the 50-km-long, linear, onland segment of the Central Range fault zone (CRFZ) accommodates at least 60% of the total rate of right-lateral displacement (∼20 mm/yr) between the Caribbean and South American plates. 2D and 3D seismic reflection data from a 60-km-long and 30-km-wide swath of the eastern shelf of Trinidad (block 2AB) were used to map the eastern offshore extension of this potentially seismogenic and hazardous fault system and to document its deeper structure and tectonic controls on middle Miocene to recent clastic stratigraphy. Two unconformity surfaces and seafloor were mapped using 3D seismic data to generate isochron maps and to illustrate the close control of the CRFZ and associated secondary faults on small, clastic basins formed along its anastomosing strands and the east-west-striking North Darien Ridge fault zone (NDRFZ) that exhibits a down-to-the-north normal throw. Mapped surfaces include: 1) the middle Miocene angular unconformity, a prominent, regional unconformity surface separating underlying thrust-deformed rocks from a much less deformed overlying section; this regional unconformity is well studied from onland outcrops in Trinidad and in other offshore areas around Trinidad; 2) a Late Neogene angular unconformity developed locally within block 2AB that is not recognized in Trinidad; and 3) the seafloor of the eastern Trinidad shelf which exhibits linear scarps for both the CRFZ and the east-west-striking North Darien Ridge fault zone. Clastic sedimentary fill patterns identified on these isochron maps indicate a combined effect of strike-slip and reverse faulting (i.e., tectonic transpression) produced by active right-lateral shear on the CRFZ, which is consistent with the obliquity of the strike of the fault to the interplate slip vector known from GPS studies in onland Trinidad. The NDRFZ and a sub-parallel and linear family of east-west-striking faults with normal and possibly transtensional motions also contributed to the creation of accommodation space within localized, post-middle Miocene clastic depocenters south of the CRFZ. 相似文献
13.
The results of the complex study of the sedimentary cover (continuous seismic profiling and diatom analysis) in the northeastern
part of the Sea of Japan, including the Bogorov Rise, the adjacent part of the Japan Basin, and the continental slope, are
presented. Two varied-age complexes were distinguished in the sedimentary cover of Primorye’s continental slope, namely, the
Middle Miocene and Late Miocene-Pleistocene; these complexes were formed in a stable tectonic environment with no significant
vertical movements. The depression in the acoustic basement is located along the continental slope and it is divided from
the Japan Basin by a group of volcanic structures, the most uplifted part of which forms the Bogorov Rise. The depression
was formed, probably, before the Middle Miocene. In the Middle Miocene, the Bogorov Rise was already at the depths close to
the modern ones. In the sedimentary cover near the Bogorov Rise, buried zones were found, which probably were channels for
gas transportation in the pre-Pleistocene. Deformations of sediments that occurred in the beginning of the Pleistocene are
established in the basin. 相似文献
14.
E. P. Terekhov I. B. Tsoy N. G. Vashchenkova A. V. Mozherovskii M. T. Gorovaya 《Oceanology》2008,48(4):569-577
A study of the rocks from the Cenozoic sedimentary cover of the Kuril Basin slopes revealed two sedimentation stages in this area: the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene and Late Miocene-Pleistocene, which are separated by erosion in the Middle Miocene. They are characterized by dominant siliceous and terrigenous sediments, respectively. The former largely accumulated in neritic settings, while the latter were deposited in the bathyal zone under a strong influence of explosive volcanism. The change in the sedimentation regime probably occurred in the Middle-Late Miocene during the formation of the slopes of the present-day Kuril Basin. The rocks constituting crustal blocks with a granite-metamorphic layer served as a source of terrigenous material for the Cenozoic sedimentary cover, which indicates the sialic nature of the underlying basement. 相似文献
15.
A. Maldonado F. Bohoyo J. Galindo-Zaldívar J. Hernández-Molina A. Jabaloy F. J. Lobo J. Rodríguez-Fernández E. Suriñach J. T. Vázquez 《Marine Geophysical Researches》2006,27(2):83-107
The distribution of seismic units in deposits of the basins near the Antarctic–Scotia plate boundary is described based on
the analysis of multichannel seismic reflection profiles. Five main seismic units are identified. The units are bounded by
high-amplitude continuous reflectors, named a to d from top to bottom. The two older units are of different age and seismic
facies in each basin and were generally deposited during active rifting and seafloor spreading. The three youngest units (3
to 1) exhibit, in contrast, rather similar seismic facies and can be correlated at a regional scale. The deposits are types
of contourite drift that resulted from the interplay between the northeastward flow of Weddell Sea Bottom Water (WSBW) and
the complex bathymetry in the northern Weddell Sea, and from the influence of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the WSBW
in the Scotia Sea. A major paleoceanographic event was recorded by Reflector c, during the Middle Miocene, which represents
the connection between the Scotia Sea and the Weddell Sea after the opening of Jane Basin. Unit 3 (tentatively dated ∼Middle
to Late Miocene) shows the initial incursions of the WSBW into the Scotia Sea, which influenced a northward progradational
pattern, in contrast to the underlying deposits. The age attributed to Reflector b is coincident with the end of spreading
at the West Scotia Ridge (∼6.4 Ma). Unit 2 (dated ∼Late Miocene to Early Pliocene) includes abundant high-energy, sheeted
deposits in the northern Weddell Sea, which may reflect a higher production of WSBW as a result of the advance of the West
Antarctic ice-sheet onto the continental shelf. Reflector a represents the last major regional paleoceanographic change. The
timing of this event (∼3.5–3.8 Ma) coincides with the end of spreading at the Phoenix–Antarctic Ridge, but may be also correlated
with global events such as initiation of the permanent Northern Hemisphere ice-sheet and a major sea level drop. Unit 1 (dated
∼Late Pliocene to Recent) is characterized by abundant chaotic, high-energy sheeted deposits, in addition to a variety of
contourites, which suggest intensified deep-water production. Units 1 and 2 show, in addition, a cyclic pattern, more abundant
wavy deposits and the development of internal unconformities, all of which attest to alternating periods of increased bottom
current energy. 相似文献
16.
R. H. Herzer B. W. Davy N. Mortimer P. G. Quilty G. C. H. Chaproniere C. M. Jones A. J. Crawford C. J. Hollis 《Marine Geophysical Researches》2009,30(1):21-60
The Northland Plateau and the Vening Meinesz “Fracture” Zone (VMFZ), separating southwest Pacific backarc basins from New
Zealand Mesozoic crust, are investigated with new data. The 12–16 km thick Plateau comprises a volcanic outer plateau and
an inner plateau sedimentary basin. The outer plateau has a positive magnetic anomaly like that of the Three Kings Ridge.
A rift margin was found between the Three Kings Ridge and the South Fiji Basin. Beneath the inner plateau basin, is a thin
body interpreted as allochthon and parautochthon, which probably includes basalt. The basin appears to have been created by
Early Miocene mainly transtensive faulting, which closely followed obduction of the allochthon and was coeval with arc volcanism.
VMFZ faulting was eventually concentrated along the edge of the continental shelf and upper slope. Consequently arc volcanoes
in a chain dividing the inner and outer plateau are undeformed whereas volcanoes, in various stages of burial, within the
basin and along the base of the upper slope are generally faulted. Deformed and flat-lying Lower Miocene volcanogenic sedimentary
rocks are intimately associated with the volcanoes and the top of the allochthon; Middle Miocene to Recent units are, respectively,
mildly deformed to flat-lying, calcareous and turbiditic. Many parts of the inner plateau basin were at or above sea level
in the Early Miocene, apparently as isolated highs that later subsided differentially to 500–2,000 m below sea level. A mild,
Middle Miocene compressive phase might correlate with events of the Reinga and Wanganella ridges to the west. Our results
agree with both arc collision and arc unzipping regional kinematic models. We present a continental margin model that begins
at the end of the obduction phase. Eastward rifting of the Norfolk Basin, orthogonal to the strike of the Norfolk and Three
Kings ridges, caused the Northland Plateau to tear obliquely from the Reinga Ridge portion of the margin, initiating the inner
plateau basin and the Cavalli core complex. Subsequent N115° extension and spreading parallel with the Cook Fracture Zone
completed the southeastward translation of the Three Kings Ridge and Northland Plateau and further opened the inner plateau
basin, leaving a complex dextral transform volcanic margin. 相似文献
17.
A number of samples have been dredged from the upper parts of Amanay and El Banquete Seamounts, yet volcanic materials have been collected only on Amanay Seamount. Based on textural features and the presence or absence of kaersutite, two main types of olivine pyroxene basaltic rocks have been identified. The rocks are basanites with high enrichment in the most incompatible elements, similar to that displayed by Ocean Island Basalts. Samples from Amanay Seamount formed due to a low degree of melting of an enriched mantle, very similar to that which probably caused the Miocene volcanic activity of Fuerteventura. The age of Amanay volcanic rocks, 15.3 ± 0.4 and 13.1 ± 0.3 Ma, is similar to those of the older volcanic units exposed in the nearby islands (Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote). This proves the formation of a separate submarine volcanic edifice coeval with the other edifices of the Eastern Canarian Volcanic Ridge. Volcanic activity on the submarine edifice is thought to have ceased at about 13 Ma, simultaneous with the adjacent main volcanic construction. 相似文献
18.
-The tectonic types of the Zhujiang (Pearl) River Mouth Basin in the South China Sea are epicontinental rift-depression basins. Prior to Early Cretaceous time, the Dongsha Uplift arid its surrounding depressions had been combined with the Eurasia Plate in a single unit. Many ENE-trending narrow rifted basins were formed in the third episode of Yanshan orogeny (Late Laramide). The rifted basins in the Paleocene and Eocene were stretched and extended, forming Zhu 1, Zhu 2 and Zhu 3 depressions. The Dongsha Uplift is located between Zhu 1 and Zhu 2 depressions . covering an area of 28 000 Km2. Its geologic evolution can be divided into four stages:(1) Late Cretaceous - Paleocene block-faulting stage.(2) Eocene -Oligocene uplifting and eroding stage.(3) Late Oligocene - Early Miocene sustained subsiding stage.(4) Middle Miocene -Recent noncompensated subsiding stage.The Dongsha Uplift is a structural zone favourable for oil-gas accumulation. 相似文献
19.
A 15-cm-thick carbonate substrate encrusted with ferromanganese oxides from the Vityaz Fracture Zone, Central Indian Ridge was analyzed to reconstruct the paleoceanography of the region. Based on the calcareous nannoplankton assemblage, an early Pliocene age has been assigned to the calcareous substrate. Among the nannoplankton, discoasters outnumber coccoliths and show signs of dissolution. The presence of certain species of benthic Foraminifera such as Uvigerina, Lenticulina, Bulimina and Bolivina, indicates the infringement of the oxygen minimum zone during the deposition of the carbonates. The occurrence of a Reticulofenestra pseudoumbilica zone of early Pliocene age suggests a change in depositional conditions coinciding with the time of formation of the large depositional hiatuses documented in sediment cores from adjacent basins of the western Indian Ocean. These hiatuses resulted from the prevalence of intermediate subsurface currents such as the Somali Current or the Western Boundary Current. 相似文献
20.
The tectonic mechanisms controlling how volcanic arcs migrate through space and geologic time within dynamic subduction environments is a fundamental tectonic process that remains poorly understood. This paper presents an integrated stratigraphic and tectonic evolution of Late Cretaceous to Recent volcanic arcs and associated basins in the southeastern Caribbean Sea using seismic reflection data, wide-angle seismic refraction data, well data, and onland geologic data. We propose a new tectonic model for the opening of the Grenada and Tobago basins and the 50-250-km eastward jump of arc volcanism from the Late Cretaceous Aves Ridge to the Miocene to Recent Lesser Antilles arc in the southeast Caribbean based on the mapping of three seismic megasequences. The striking similarity of the half-graben structure of the Grenada and Tobago basins that flank the Lesser Antilles arc, their similar smooth basement character, their similar deep-marine seismic facies, and their similar Paleogene sediment thickness mapped on a regional grid of seismic data suggest that the two basins formed as a single, saucer-shaped, oceanic crust Paleogene forearc basin adjacent to the now dormant Aves Ridge. This single forearc basin continued to extend and widen through flexural subsidence during the early to middle Eocene probably because of slow rollback of the subducting Atlantic oceanic slab. Rollback may have been accelerated by oblique collision of the southern Aves Ridge and southern Lesser Antilles arc with the South American continent. Uplift and growth of the southern Lesser Antilles arc divided the Grenada and Tobago basins by early to middle Miocene time. Inversion of normal faults and uplift effects along both edges of the Lesser Antilles arc are most pronounced in its southern zone of arc collision with the South American continent. The late Miocene to Recent depositional histories of the Grenada and Tobago basins are distinct because of isolation of the Grenada basin by growth and uplift of the Neogene Lesser Antilles volcanic ridge. 相似文献