Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Experimental Simulation of Conditions of the Tasmania and Adélie Continental Blocks Formation at the Early Stage of the Break-Up of the Australian-Antarctic Paleocontinent

  • Published:
Geotectonics Aims and scope

Abstract

This study focuses on physical modeling of interaction between the Indian and Pacific spreading axes, which resulted in separation of the Tasmania and Adélie blocks during the final stage of the Gondwana breakup, with separation of Australia and Antarctica. The Indian branch of seafloor spreading propagated eastward across the Archean–Mesoproterozoic lithosphere of the western part of Australia–Antarctica, whereas the Pacific branch moved westward through the Paleozoic–Early Mesozoic Fold Belt of eastern Australia–Antarctica. The experiments demonstrated that the interaction between the two spreading axes led to oblique extension (at an angle of 120°–130°) between two continents. At the same time, a rift branch formed between Antarctica and the Adélie Block, but did not developed further. Subsequent opening of the ocean occurred with sinistral strike-slip, which led to transpressional deformations of the Adélie Block and Sorell Basin within the Tasmania Block.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 7.
Fig. 8.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. L. V. Varova, G. L. Leichenkov, and Yu. B. Guseva, “Tectonic structure of the continental margin of Adelie Land–George V Land and the adjacent abyssal basin (East Antarctic),” Probl. Arkt. Antarkt., No. 2, 69–80 (2011).

  2. A. L. Grokholskii and E. P. Dubinin, “Structure formation in the rift zones and in the tranvers offset of the spreading axes: Results of physical modeling,” Izv., Phys. Solid Earth 46, 412–418 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. E. P. Dubinin, “Geodynamic settings of the formation of microcontinents, submerged plateaus, and nonvolcanic islands within continental margins,” Oceanology 58, 435–446 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. E. P. Dubinin, A. L. Grokholsky, and A. I. Makushkina, “Physical modeling of the formation conditions of microcontinents and continental marginal plateaus,” Izv., Phys. Solid Earth 54, 66–78 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. G. L. Leitchenkov, Yu. B. Guseva, V. V. Gandyukhin, S. V. Ivanov, and L. V. Safonova, “Structure of the Earth’s crust and tectonic evolution history of the Southern Indian Ocean (Antarctica),” Geotectonics 48, 5–23 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. G. L. Leichenkov, Yu. B. Guseva, V. V. Gandyukhin, and S. V. Ivanov, Crustal Structure and Geological Evolution of Sedimentary Basins in the Indian Ocean Part of Antarctica (VNIIOkeangeologiya, St. Petersburg, 2015) [in Russian].

  7. L. I. Lobkovskii, A. M. Nikishin, and V. E. Khain, Contemporary Problems of Geotectonics and Geodynamics (Nauchnyi mir, Moscow, 2004) [in Russian].

  8. A. I. Shemenda, “Similarity criteria in mechanical simulation of tectonic processes,” Geol. Geofiz., No. 10, 10–19 (1983).

  9. J. Blevin and D. Cathro, Australian Southern Margin Synthesis, Project GA707, Client Report to Geoscience Australia by FrOG Tech Pty Ltd., 2008. https://d28rz98at9flks. cloudfront.net/68892/68892.pdf. Accessed October 1, 2020.

  10. S. Boger, “Antarctica — Before and after Gondwana,” Gondwana Res. 19, 335–371 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. I. Borissova, A. Moore, J. Sayers, R. Parums, M. F. Coffin, and P. A. Symonds, Geological Framework of the Kerguelen Plateau and Adjacent Ocean Basins (Pet. Mar. Div., Geosci. Aust., Canberra, 2002).

  12. S. Cande and J. Mutter, “A revised identification of the oldest seafloor spreading anomaly between Australia and Antarctica,” Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 58, 151–160 (1982).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. J. B. Colwell, H. M. J. Stagg, N. G. Direen, G. Bernardel, and I. Borissova, “The structure of the continental margin off Wilkes Land and Terre Adelie Coast, East Antarctica,” in Antarctica. Contributions to Global Earth Sciences, Ed. by D. K. Futterer, D. Damaske, G. Kleinschmidt, H. Miller, and F. Tessensohn (Springer, New York, 2006), pp. 327−340.

  14. Ø. Engen, J. I. Faleide, and T. K. Dyreng, “Opening of the Fram Strait gateway: A review of plate tectonic constraints,” Tectonophysics 450, 51–69 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. N. Espurt, J.-P. Callot, F. Roure, J. M. Totterdell, H. I. M. Struckmeyer, and R. Vially, “Transition from symmetry to asymmetry during continental rifting: An example from the Bight Basin–Terre Adélie (Australian and Antarctic conjugate margins),” Terra Nova 24, 167–180 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. N. F. Exon, T. S. White, M. J. Malone, J. P. Kennett, and P. J. Hill, “Petroleum potential of deepwater basins around Tasmania; Insights from Ocean Drilling Program Leg 189,” in Eastern Australasian Basins Symposium 2001, New Guinea, East Australia, New Zealand: A Refocused Energy Perspective for the Future, Ed. by K. C. Hill and T. Bernecker (Pet. Explor. Soc. Aust., 2001), pp. 49–60.

  17. C. Gaina, D. R. Mueller, J. Y. Royer, J. Stock, J. L. Hardebeck, and P. Symonds, “The tectonic history of the Tasman Sea: A puzzle with 13 pieces,” J. Geophys. Res.: Solid Earth 103, 12 413–12 433 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. A. D. Gibbons, U. Barckhausen, P. van den Bogaard, K. Hoernle, R. Werner, J. M. Whittaker, and R. D. Müller, “Constraining the Jurassic extent of Greater India: Tectonic evolution of the West Australian margin,” Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 13 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GC003919

  19. M. Gilbert and K. Hill, “Gippsland, a composite basin—A case study from the offshore Northern Strzelecki Terrace, Gippsland Basin, Australia,” APEA J. 34, 495–512 (1994).

    Google Scholar 

  20. A. L. Grokholskii and E. P. Dubinin, “Experimental modeling of structure-forming deformations in rift zones of mid-ocean ridges,” Geotectonics 40, 64–80 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. P. J. Hill and N. F. Exon, “Tectonics and basin development of the offshore Tasmanian area incorporating results from deep ocean drilling,” in The Cenozoic Southern Ocean: Tectonics, Sedimentation and Climate Change between Australia and Antarctica, Vol. 151 of Am. Geophys. Union, Geophys. Monogr. Ser., Ed. by N. F. Exon, J. P. Kennett, and M. J. Malone (2004), pp. 19–42.

  22. P. J. Hill, N. F. Exon, J. B. Keene, and S. M. Smith, “The continental margin off east Tasmania and Gippsland structure and development using new multibeam sonar data,” Explor. Geophys. 29, 410–419 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. P. J. Hill, A. J. Meixner, A. M. G. Moore, and N. F. Exon, “Structure and development of the west Tasmanian offshore sedimentary basins: Results of recent marine and aeromagnetic surveys,” Australas. J. Earth Sci. 44, 579–596 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. P. J. Hill and K. Webber, Deep Crustal Seismic Survey, Circum-Tasmania and South Tasman Rise, AGSO Survey 148/159 Post-Cruise Report (Aust. Geol. Surv. Org., Canberra, 1995).

    Google Scholar 

  25. H. Johnson, J. D. Ritchie, K. Hitchen, D. B. Mcinroy, and G. S. Kimbell, “Aspects of the Cenozoic deformational history of the Northeast Faroe-Shetland Basin, Wyville-Thomson Ridge and Hatton Bank,” in Petroleum Geology: North-West Europe and Global Perspectives, Proceedings of the 6th Petroleum Geology Conference, 2005, pp. 993–1007. https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/ books/book/1558/Petroleum-GeologyNorth-West-Europe-and-Global

  26. A. A. Krassay, D. L. Cathro, and D. J. Ryan, “A regional tectonostratigraphic framework for the Otway Basin,” in Eastern Australasian Basins Symposium II, Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia, Ed. by P. J. Boult, D. R. Johns, and S. C. Lang (2004), pp. 97–116.

  27. B. V. Malkin and A. I. Shemenda, “Mechanism of rifting: consideration based on results of physical modeling and on geological and geophysical data,” Tectonophysics 199, 193–210 (1991).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. C. K. Morley, R. A. Nelson, T. L. Patton, and S. G. Munn, “Transfer zones in the East African rift system and their relevance to hydrocarbon exploration in rifts,” AAPG Bull. 74, 1234–1253 (1990).

    Google Scholar 

  29. M. S. Norvick and M. A. Smith, “Mapping the plate tectonic reconstruction of southern and southeastern Australia and implications for petroleum systems,” APPEA J. 41, 15–35 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ00001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. M. R. Power, K. C. Hill, N. Hoffman, T. Bernecker, and M. S. Norvick, “The structural and tectonic evolution of the Gippsland Basin; results from 2D section balancing and 3D structural modelling,” in Eastern Australasian Basins Symposium 2001, New Guinea, East Australia, New Zealand: A Refocused Energy Perspective for the Future, Ed. by K. C. Hill and T. Bernecker (Pet. Explor. Soc. Aust., 2001), pp. 373–384.

  31. D. T. Sandwell, R. D. Müller, W. H. F. Smith, E. Garcia, and R. Francis, “New global marine gravity model from CryoSat-2 and Jason-1 reveals buried tectonic structure,” Science 346, 65–67 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. J. Sayers, P. A. Symonds, N. G. Direen, and G. Bernadel, “Nature of the continent–ocean transition on the non-volcanic rifted margin in the central Great Australian Bight,” in Non-Volcanic Rifting of Continental Margins: A Composition of Evidence from Land and Sea, Vol. 187 of Geol. Soc. London, Spec. Publ., Ed. by R. C. L. Wilson, R. B. Whitmarsh, B. Taylor, and N. Froitzheim (2001), pp. 51–77.

  33. A. I. Shemenda and A. L. Grocholsky, “Physical modeling of slow seafloor spreading,” J. Geophys. Res: Solid Earth 99, 9137–9153 (1994).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. H. M. J. Stagg and J. B. Willcox, “Structure and hydrocarbon potential of the Bremer Basin, Southwest Australia,” BMR J. Aust. Geol. Geophys. 12, 327−337 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  35. A. A. Tikku and S. C. Cande, “The oldest magnetic anomalies in the Australian-Antarctic Basin: Are they isochrons?,” J. Geophys. Res.: Solid Earth 104, 661–677 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. J. M. Totterdell, J. E. Blevin, H. I. M. Struckmeyer, B. E. Bradshaw, J. B. Colwell, and J. M. Kennard, “A new sequence framework for the Great Australian Bight: Starting with a clean slate,” APPEA J. 40, 95–117 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. M. Yuasa, K. Niida, T. Ishihara, K. Kisimoto, and F. Murakami, “Peridotite dredged from a seamount off Wilkes Land, the Antarctic: Emplacement of fertile mantle fragment at early rifting stage between Australia and Antarctica during the final breakup of Gondwanaland,” in The Antarctic Region: Geological Evolution and Processes, Ed. by C. A. Ricci (Terra Antarctica, Siena, Italy, 1997), pp. 725–730.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for useful comments on the content and structure of the article. We acknowledge the editor, M.N. Shoupletsova (Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow), for her attention and helpful remarks, which improved the initial manuscript.

Funding

The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 16-17-10 139) and partially by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 18-05-00378; testing of methods for physically simulating marginal plateau formation).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gramberg All-Russia Scientific Research Institute for Geology and Mineral Resources of the Ocean, 190121, St. Petersburg, Russia

    V. M. Sergeeva & G. L. Leitchenkov

  2. Institute of Earth Science, St. Petersburg State University, 199034, St. Petersburg, Russia

    V. M. Sergeeva & G. L. Leitchenkov

  3. Moscow State University, 119991, Moscow, Russia

    E. P. Dubinin & A. L. Groholsky

Authors
  1. V. M. Sergeeva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. G. L. Leitchenkov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. E. P. Dubinin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. A. L. Groholsky
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to V. M. Sergeeva.

Additional information

Translated by N. Astafiev

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sergeeva, V.M., Leitchenkov, G.L., Dubinin, E.P. et al. Experimental Simulation of Conditions of the Tasmania and Adélie Continental Blocks Formation at the Early Stage of the Break-Up of the Australian-Antarctic Paleocontinent. Geotecton. 54, 741–753 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016852120060138

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016852120060138

Keywords:

Search

Navigation