Revised Eocene-Oligocene kinematics for the West Antarctic rift system

Abstract

Past plate motion between East and West Antarctica along the West Antarctic rift system had important regional and global implications. Although extensively studied, the kinematics of the rift during Eocene-Oligocene time still remains elusive. Based on a recent detailed aeromagnetic survey from the Adare and Northern Basins, located in the northwestern Ross Sea, we present the first well-constrained kinematic model with four rotations for Anomalies 12o, 13o, 16y, and 18o (26.5–40.13 Ma). These rotation poles form a cluster suggesting a stable sense of motion during that period of time. The poles are located close to the central part of the rift implying that the local motion varied from extension in the western Ross Sea sector (Adare Basin, Northern Basin, and Victoria Land Basin) to dextral transcurrent motion in the Ross Ice Shelf and to oblique convergence in the eastern end of the rift zone. The results confirm previous estimates of 95 km of extension in the Victoria Land Basin.