Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T01:31:21.210Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Crustal growth of the Antarctic Peninsula by accretion, magmatism and extension

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

B. C. Storey
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, U.K.
S. W. Garrett
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, U.K.

Abstract

A subduction-accretion model incorporating new geophysical data is presented to explain the geology of the Antarctic Peninsula from late Palaeozoic to Cenozoic time. According to the model, the peninsula consists of overlapping accretionary, magmatic and extensional regimes that were diachronous across the peninsula and have built the crust to its present form. The crust, which contains a small proportion of sialic basement, was mainly formed by accretionary and magmatic processes and modified to its present shape by extension. The Gondwanide Orogeny for the Antarctic Peninsula is interpreted in terms of the accretionary processes.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adie, R. J. 1954. The petrology of Graham Land. I. The Basement Complex: early Palaeozoic plutonic and volcanic rocks. Scientific Report Falkland Islands Dependency Survey no. 11.Google Scholar
Adie, R. J. 1955. The petrology of Graham Land. II. The Andean granite-gabbro intrusive suite. Scientific Report Falkland Islands Dependency Survey no. 12.Google Scholar
Adie, R. J. 1957. The petrology of Graham Land. III. Metamorphic rocks of the Trinity Peninsula Series. Scientific Report Falkland Islands Dependency Survey no. 20.Google Scholar
Adie, R. J. 1964. Geological history. In Antarctic Research (ed. Priestley, R. E., Adie, R. J. and Robin, G. de Q.), pp. 118–62. London: Butterworth.Google Scholar
Aitkenhead, N. 1975. The geology of the Duse Bay-Larsen Inlet area, north-east Graham Land (with particular reference to the Trinity Peninsula Series). Scientific Report British Antarctic Survey no. 51.Google Scholar
Askin, R. A. & Elliot, D. H. 1982. Geological implications of recycled Permian and Triassic palynomorphs in Tertiary rocks of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Geology 10, 547–51.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barker, P. F. 1982. The Cenozoic subduction history of the Pacific margin of the Antarctic Peninsula: ridge crest-trench interactions. Journal of the Geology Society of London 139, 787802.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, C. M. 1973. The geology of Beethoven Peninsula, south-western Alexander Island. Bulletin British Antarctic Survey 32, 7583.Google Scholar
Burn, R. W. 1981. Early Tertiary calc-alkaline volcanism on Alexander Island. Bulletin British Antarctic Survey 53, 175–93.Google Scholar
Burn, R. W. 1984. The geology of the LeMay Group, Alexander Island. Scientific Report British Antarctic Survey no. 109.Google Scholar
Burn, R. W. & Thomson, M. R. A. 1981. Late Cenozoic tillites associated with intraglacial volcanic rocks, Lesser Antarctica. In Earth's Pre-Pleistocene Glacial Record (ed. Hambrey, M. J. and Harland, W. B.), pp. 199203. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Bussell, M. A. 1983. Timing of tectonic and magmatic events in the central Andes of Peru. Journal of the Geological Society London 140, 279–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Care, B. W. 1980. The geology of Rothschild Island, North-west Alexander Island. Bulletin British Antarctic Survey 50, 87112.Google Scholar
Curtis, R. 1966. The petrology of the Graham Coast, Graham Land. Scientific Report British Antarctic Survey no. 50.Google Scholar
Dalziel, I. W. D. 1972. Large-scale folding in the Scotia arc. In Antarctic Geology and Geophysics (ed. Adie, R. J.), pp. 4755. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.Google Scholar
Dalziel, I. W. D. 1981. Back-arc extension in the southern Andes: a review and critical reappraisal. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series A, 300, 319–35.Google Scholar
Dalziel, I. W. D. 1982 The early (pre-middle Jurassic) history of the Scotia Arc Region: a review and progress report. In Antarctic Geoscience (ed. Craddock, C.), pp. 111–26. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Dalziel, I. W. D. 1983. The evolution of the Scotia Arc: a review. In Antarctic Earth Science (ed. Oliver, R. L., James, P. R. and Jago, J. B.), pp. 283–8. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Dalziel, I. W. D., Dott, R. H., Winn, R. D. & Bruhn, R. L. 1975. Tectonic relations of South Georgia Island to the southernmost Andes. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 86, 1034–40.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dalziel, I. W. D. & Elliot, D. H. 1973. The Scotia Arc and Antarctic margin. In The Ocean Basins and Their Margins, vol 1. The South Atlantic(ed.Stehli, F. G. and Nairn, A. E. M.), pp. 171246. New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Dalziel, I. W. D., Elliot, D. H., Jones, D. L., Thomson, J. W., Thomson, M. R. A., Wells, N. A. & Zinsmeister, W. J. 1981. The geological significance of some Triassic microfossils from the South Orkney Islands, Scotia Ridge. Geological Magazine 118, 1525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davey, F. J. 1972. Marine gravity measurements in Bransfield Strait and adjacent areas. In Antarctic Geology and Geophysics (ed. Adie, R. J.), pp. 3945. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.Google Scholar
Dewar, G. J. 1970. The geology of Adelaide Island. Scientific Report British Antarctic Survey no. 57.Google Scholar
De Wit, M. J., Dutch, S., Kligfield, R., Allen, R. & Stern, C. 1977. Deformation, serpentinization and emplacement of a dunite complex, Gibbs Island, South Shetland Islands: possible fracture zone tectonics. Journal of Geology 85, 745–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dickinson, W. R. & Seely, D. R. 1979. Structure and stratigraphy of forearc regions. Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists 63, 231.Google Scholar
Edwards, C. W. 1979. Early Mesozoic marine fossils from central Alexander Island. Bulletin British Antarctic Survey 49, 3358.Google Scholar
Edwards, C. W. 1982. Further palaeontological evidence of Triassic sedimentation in western Antarctica. In Antarctic Geoscience (ed. Craddock, C.), pp. 325–30. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Elliot, D. H. 1975. Tectonics of Antarctica: a review. American Journal of Science A 275, 45106.Google Scholar
Elliot, D. H. & Wells, N. A. 1982. Mesozoic alluvial fans of the South Orkney Islands. In Antarctic Geoscience (ed. Craddock, C.), pp. 235–44. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Farquharson, G. W. 1982. Late Mesozoic sedimentation in the northern Antarctic Peninsula and its relationship to the southern Andes. Journal of the Geological Society of London 139, 721–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farquharson, G. W., Hamer, R. D. & Ineson, J. R. (in the press). Proximal volcaniclastic sedimentation in a Cretaceous back-arc basin, northern Antarctic Peninsula. In Volcanic Processes in Marginal Basins (eds Kokelaar, B. P. and Howells, M. F.). Geological Society of London Special Publication.Google Scholar
Fraser, A. G. 1964. Banded gabbros of the Anagram Islands, Graham Land. Bulletin British Antarctic Survey 4, 2338.Google Scholar
Fraser, A. G. & Grimley, P. H. 1972. The geology of parts of the Bowman and Wilkins Coasts, Antarctic Peninsula. Scientific Report British Antarctic Survey no. 67.Google Scholar
Gledhill, A., Rex, D. C. & Tanner, P. W. G. 1982. Rb–Sr and K–Ar chronology of rocks from the Antarctic Peninsula between Anvers Island and Marguerite Bay. In Antarctic Geoscience (ed. Craddock, C.), pp. 315–24. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Goldring, D. C. 1962. The geology of the Loubet Coast, Graham Land. Scientific Report British Antarctic Survey no. 36.Google Scholar
Gonzalez-Ferran, O. 1982. The Antarctic Cenozoic volcanic provinces and their implication in plate tectonic processes (Review paper). In Antarctic Geoscience (ed. Craddock, C.), pp. 687–94. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Grikurov, G. E. & Dibner, A. F. 1968. Novye dannye o Sern Triniti (C1–2) v zapadnoy Antarktide. [New data on the Trinity Series (C1–2) in west Antarctica.] Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR 179, 410–412. [English translation: Doklady (Proceedings) of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR 179, 3941.Google Scholar
Hamer, R. D. & Moyes, A. B. 1982. Composition and origin of garnet from the Antarctic Peninsula Volcanic Group of Trinity Peninsula. Journal of the Geological Society of London 139, 713–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobbs, G. J. 1968. The geology of the South Shetland Islands IV. The geology of Livingston Island. Scientific Report British Antarctic Survey no. 47.Google Scholar
Hooper, P. R. 1962. The petrology of Anvers Island and adjacent islands. Scientific Report British Antarctic Survey no. 34.Google Scholar
Horne, R. R. 1967. Structural geology of part of south eastern Alexander Island. Bulletin British Antarctic Survey 11, 122.Google Scholar
Horne, P. R. & Thomson, M. R. A. 1967. Post-Aptian camptonite dykes in south-east Alexander Island. Bulletin British Antarctic Survey 14, 1524.Google Scholar
Hyden, G. & Tanner, P. W. G. 1981. Late Palaeozoic–early Mesozoic fore-arc basin sedimentary rocks at the Pacific margin in western Antarctica. Geologische Rundschau 70, 529–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jefferson, T. H. 1980. Angiosperm fossils in supposed Jurassic volcanogenic shales, Antarctica. Nature 285, 157–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karig, D. E. & Sharman, G. F. 1975. Subduction and accretion in trenches. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 86, 377–89.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laudon, T. S., Lackey, L. L., Quilty, P. G. & Otway, P. M. 1969. Geology of eastern Ellsworth Land (sheet 3, eastern Ellsworth Land). In Antarctic Map Folio Series 12 (ed. Bushnell, V. C. & Craddock, C.). New York: American Geographical Society.Google Scholar
Lee, C-S., Shor, G. G., Bibee, L. D., Lu, R. S. & Hilde, T. W. C. 1980. Okinawa trough: origin of a back-arc basin. Marine Geology 35, 219–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lemasurier, W. E. & Rex, D. C. 1982. Volcanic record of Cenozoic glacial history in Marie Byrd Land and Western Ellsworth Land: revised chronology and evaluation of tectonic factors. In Antarctic Geoscience (ed. Craddock, C.), pp. 725–34. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Longshaw, S. K. & Griffiths, D. H. 1983. A palaeomagnetic study of Jurassic rocks from the Antarctic Peninsula and its implications. Journal of the Geological Society of London 140, 945–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacKinnon, T. C. 1983. Origin of the Torlesse terrane and coeval rocks, South Island, New Zealand. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 94, 967–85.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meneilly, A. W. 1983. Deformation of granitic plutons in eastern Palmer Land. Bulletin British Antarctic Survey 61, 75–9.Google Scholar
Nelson, P. H. H. 1966. The James Ross Island volcanic group of north-east Graham Land. Scientific Report British Antarctic Survey no. 54.Google Scholar
Pankhurst, R. J. 1982 a. Rb–Sr geochronology of Graham Land, Antarctica. Journal of the Geological Society of London 139, 701–11CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pankhurst, R. J. 1982 b. Sr-isotope and trace element geochemistry of Cenozoic volcanic rocks from the Scotia Arc and the northern Antarctic Peninsula. In Antarctic Geoscience (ed. Craddock, C.), pp. 229–34. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Pankhurst, R. J. 1983. Rb–Sr constraints on the ages of basement rocks on the Antarctic Peninsula. In Antarctic Earth Science (ed. Oliver, R. C., James, P. R. & Jago, J. B.), pp. 367–71. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Renner, R. G. B., Dikstra, B. J. & Martin, J. L. 1982. Aeromagnetic surveys over the Antarctic Peninsula. In Antarctic Geoscience (ed. Craddock, C.), pp. 363–70. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Rex, D. C. & Baker, P. E. 1973. Age and petrology of the Cornwallis Island granodiorite. Bulletin British Antarctic Survey 32, 5561.Google Scholar
Roach, P. J. 1978. The nature of back-arc extension in Bransfield Strait. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 53, 165.Google Scholar
Rowley, P. D., Vennum, W. R., Kellogg, K. S., Laudon, T. S., Carrara, P. E., Boyles, J. M. & Thomson, M. R. A. 1983. Geology and plate tectonic setting of the Orville Coast and Eastern Ellsworth Land, Antarctica. In Antarctic Earth Science (ed. Oliver, R. L., James, P. R. & Jago, J. B.), pp. 245–50. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Saunders, A. D. 1982. Petrology and geochemistry of alkali-basalts from Jason Peninsula, Oscar II Coast, Graham Land. Bulletin British Antarctic Survey 55, 19.Google Scholar
Saunders, A. D. & Tarney, J. 1982. Igneous, activity in the southern Andes and northern Antarctic Peninsula: a review: Journal of the Geological Society of London 139, 691700.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saunders, A. D., Weaver, S. D. & Tarney, J. 1982. The pattern of Antarctic Peninsula plutonism. In Antarctic Geoscience (ed. Craddock, C.), pp. 305–14. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Singleton, D. G. 1980. The geology of the central Black Coast, Palmer Land. Scientific Report British Antarctic Survey no. 102.Google Scholar
Smellie, J. L. 1981. A complete arc-trench system recognized in Gondwana sequences of the Antarctic Peninsula region. Geological Magazine 118, 139–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smellie, J. L. & Clarkson, P. D. 1975. Evidence for pre-Jurassic subduction in western Antarctica. Nature 258, 701–2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Storey, B. C., Mair, B. F. & Bell, C. M. 1977. The occurrence of Mesozoic oceanic floor and ancient continental crust on South Georgia. Geological Magazine 114, 203–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Storey, B. C. & Meneilly, A. W. 1983. Mélange within subduction-accretion complex rocks of Fredriksen Island, South Orkney islands. Geological Magazine 120, 555–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suárez, M. 1976. Plate-tectonic model for southern Antarctic Peninsula and its relation to southern Andes. Geology 4, 211–14.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanner, P. W. G., Pankhurst, R. J. & Hyden, G. 1982. Radiometric evidence for the age of the subduction complex in the South Orkney and South Shetland Islands, West Antarctica. Journal of the Geological Society of London 139, 683–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanner, P. W. G., Storey, B. C. & Macdonald, D. I. M. 1981. Geology of an Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous island-arc assemblage in Hauge Reef, the Pickersgill Islands and adjoining areas of South Georgia. Bulletin British Antarctic Survey 53, 77117.Google Scholar
Taylor, B. J., Thomson, M. R. A. & Willey, L. E. 1979. The geology of the Ablation Point-Keystone Cliffs area, Alexander Island. Scientific Report British Antarctic Survey no. 82.Google Scholar
Thomson, J. W. 1973. The geology of Powell, Christoffersen and Michelsen Islands, South Orkney Islands. Bulletin British Antarctic Survey 33/34, 137–67.Google Scholar
Thomson, J. W. 1974. The geology of the South Orkney Islands: III. Coronation Island. Scientific Report British Antarctic Survey no. 86.Google Scholar
Thomson, M. R. A. 1967. A probable Cretaceous invertebrate fauna from Crabeater Point, Bowman Coast, Graham Land. Bulletin British Antarctic Survey 14, 114.Google Scholar
Thomson, M. R. A. 1972. New discoveries of fossils in the Upper Jurassic Volcanic Group of Adelaide Island. Bulletin British Antarctic Survey 30, 95101.Google Scholar
Thomson, M. R. A. 1975. New palaeontological and lithological observations on the Legoupil Formation, north-west Antarctic Peninsula. Bulletin British Antarctic Survey 41/ 42, 169–85.Google Scholar
Thomson, M. R. A. 1982. Mesozoic paleogeography of western Antarctica. In Antarctic Geoscience (ed. Craddock, C.), pp. 331–8. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Thomson, M. R. A., Pankhurst, R. J. & Clarkson, P. D. 1983. The Antarctic Peninsula–a late Mesozoic-Cenozoic arc (review). In Antarctic Earth Science (ed. Oliver, R. L., James, P. R. & Jago, J. B.), pp. 289–94. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wang, C. & Hilde, T. W. C. 1973. Geomagnetic interpretation of the geologic structure in the northeast offshore region of Taiwan. Acta Oceanographica Taiwanica 3, 141–56.Google Scholar
Weaver, S. D., Saunders, A. D., Pankhurst, R. J. & Tarney, J. 1979. A geochemical study of magmatism associated with the initial stages of back-arc spreading. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 68, 151–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
West, S. M. 1974. The geology of the Danco Coast, Graham Land. Scientific Report British Antarctic Survey no. 84.Google Scholar
Williams, P. L., Schmidt, D. L., Plummer, C. C. & Brown, L. E. 1972. Geology of the Lassiter Coast area, Antarctic Peninsula: preliminary report. In Antarctic Geology and Geophysics (ed. Adie, R. J.), pp. 143–8. Oslo: Universitatsforlaget.Google Scholar