Seismic stratigraphy and sedimentation history of the East Mariana Basin,western Pacific |
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| Authors: | Thomas H Shipley Jill M Whitman Frederick K Duennebier Lisa D Petersen |
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| Institution: | 1. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 U.S.A.;2. Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822 U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | An interpretation of the seismic stratigraphy and sedimentation history of the East Mariana Basin has been made using recently collected seismic reflection and refraction data. This Mesozoic(?) age basin, between the Marshall Islands and the Mariana Trench, is subdivided into three regions. The central region with about 1000 m of sediment probably records Jurassic to Late Cretaceous sedimentation of a pelagic biogenic and clay-rich section overlain by a thick section of mainly Cenozoic carbonates shed from nearby volcanic platforms. A western region is characterized by a thinner sediment cover and a shallower acoustic basement with a similar sedimentation history except that the upper section is thinner as a consequence of fewer nearby volcanic highs. Extensive Late Cretaceous mid-plate volcanics apparently masks the lower section and forms acoustic basement. The shallower eastern region (east of 157.5°E) contains WNW-trending ridges which may be either fracture zones or high-amplitude abyssal hills. The sedimentation appears controlled by the same factors as in the other regions but the area was bypassed by most Cenozoic basin-filling turbidites because of its elevation.The isostatistically corrected basement depths between the three regions suggest that the crust in the east may be substantially younger than in the rest of the East Mariana Basin, perhaps Cretaceous in age. This requires the existence of a tectonic boundary within the basin. |
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