Seismic Crustal Structure and Morphotectonic Features Associated With the Chain Fracture Zone and Their Role in the Evolution of the Equatorial Atlantic Region.

ABSTRACT: Oceanic transform faults and fracture zones (FZs) represent major bathymetric features that keep the records of past and present strike-slip motion along conservative plate boundaries. Although they play an important role in ridge segmentation and evolution of the lithosphere, their structural characteristics, and their variation in space and time, are poorly understood. To address some of the unknowns, we conducted interdisciplinary geophysical studies in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, the region where some of the most prominent transform discontinuities have been developing. Here we present the results of the data analysis in the vicinity of the Chain FZ, on the South American Plate. The crustal structure across the Chain FZ, at the contact between ∼10 and 24 Ma oceanic lithosphere, is s

SUBMITTER: Marjanovic M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7685155 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature