Mid-Cretaceous Tectonic Evolution of the Tongareva Triple Junction in the Southwest Pacific Basin

University Of Rhode Island, Kingston RI

Investigators

Abstract

This project will test a hypothesis for the mid-Cretaceous tectonic evolution of a portion of the southwest Pacific Basin. The hypothesis suggests that a plate-tectonic reorganization occurred soon after hotspot volcanism ceased on the Ontong Java and Manihiki plateaus, and the triple junction among the Pacific, Farallon, and Phoenix plates that had been located at the Nova Canton trough shifted to the northeast corner of the Manihiki plateau. A usrvey with multibeam bathymetric, side-scan, magnetometer, and shipboard and satellite gravity will determine the track of the triple junction.