Constraints on the timing of extension in the Northern Basin, Ross Sea

Abstract

Recent kinematic constraints for the region north of the western Ross Sea suggest that there was approximately 150 km of seafloor spreading in the Adare Basin, northeast of Cape Adare, between Chrons 20 and 8 (43 to 26 Ma). This kinematic history has important implications since the 150 km of extension in the Adare Basin occurred immediately north along strike from the Northern Basin of the Ross Sea, whose extensional history is not well known. This paper examines the transition from the structures in the Adare Basin to the structures of the Northern Basin and speculates on the manner in which the extension was accommodated in the Ross Sea. Magnetic anomaly data in the Adare Basin document a sequence of anomalies 18 to 12 formed during a period of very slow spreading. The easternmost part of this sequence, anomalies 16 to 18, coalesces into a single positive anomaly near 72° S, forming a distinct anomaly that can be traced southward from the Adare Basin across the continental margin and down the east side of the Northern Basin to a latitude of roughly 73° S. This observation has important implications for the tectonic history of the Ross Sea since it suggests that most of the extension in the Adare Basin continued into the Northern Basin. This, in turn, suggests that the Northern Basin was formed by a combination of crustal thinning and massive, narrowly focused intrusions.