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Sequence stratigraphy, structural style, and age of deformation of the Malaita accretionary prism (Solomon arc-Ontong Java Plateau convergent zone)

Sequence stratigraphy, structural style, and age of deformation of the Malaita accretionary prism (Solomon arc-Ontong Java Plateau convergent zone)
Sequence stratigraphy, structural style, and age of deformation of the Malaita accretionary prism (Solomon arc-Ontong Java Plateau convergent zone)
Possibilities for the fate of oceanic plateaus at subduction zones range from complete subduction of the plateau beneath the arc to complete plateau–arc accretion and resulting collisional orogenesis. Deep penetration, multi-channel seismic reflection (MCS) data from the northern flank of the Solomon Islands reveal the sequence stratigraphy, structural style, and age of deformation of an accretionary prism formed during late Neogene (5–0 Ma) convergence between the 33-km-thick crust of the Ontong Java oceanic plateau and the 15-km-thick Solomon island arc. Correlation of MCS data with the satellite-derived, free-air gravity field defines the tectonic boundaries and internal structure of the 800-km-long, 140-km-wide accretionary prism. We name this prism the “Malaita accretionary prism” or “MAP” after Malaita, the largest and best-studied island exposure of the accretionary prism in the Solomon Islands. MCS data, gravity data, and stratigraphic correlations to islands and ODP sites on the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) reveal that the offshore MAP is composed of folded and thrust faulted sedimentary rocks and upper crystalline crust offscraped from the Solomon the subducting Ontong Java Plateau (Pacific plate) and transferred to the Solomon arc. With the exception of an upper, sequence of Quaternary? island-derived terrigenous sediments, the deformed stratigraphy of the MAP is identical to that of the incoming Ontong Java Plateau in the North Solomon trench.
Malaita accretionary prism, Solomon arc, Ontong Java Plateau, Arc polarity reversal
0040-1951
221-246
Phinney, E.J.
09f54938-587b-42a5-9e96-85ee866ffb86
Mann, P.
46aa7b33-cb1c-417a-96c1-afeedc929aa0
Coffin, M.F.
b8285650-5efd-4129-ae91-1cf3f5911e89
Shipley, T.H.
c26377d5-d478-4491-838c-6e8c3586433d
Phinney, E.J.
09f54938-587b-42a5-9e96-85ee866ffb86
Mann, P.
46aa7b33-cb1c-417a-96c1-afeedc929aa0
Coffin, M.F.
b8285650-5efd-4129-ae91-1cf3f5911e89
Shipley, T.H.
c26377d5-d478-4491-838c-6e8c3586433d

Phinney, E.J., Mann, P., Coffin, M.F. and Shipley, T.H. (2004) Sequence stratigraphy, structural style, and age of deformation of the Malaita accretionary prism (Solomon arc-Ontong Java Plateau convergent zone). Tectonophysics, 389 (3-4), 221-246. (doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2003.10.025).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Possibilities for the fate of oceanic plateaus at subduction zones range from complete subduction of the plateau beneath the arc to complete plateau–arc accretion and resulting collisional orogenesis. Deep penetration, multi-channel seismic reflection (MCS) data from the northern flank of the Solomon Islands reveal the sequence stratigraphy, structural style, and age of deformation of an accretionary prism formed during late Neogene (5–0 Ma) convergence between the 33-km-thick crust of the Ontong Java oceanic plateau and the 15-km-thick Solomon island arc. Correlation of MCS data with the satellite-derived, free-air gravity field defines the tectonic boundaries and internal structure of the 800-km-long, 140-km-wide accretionary prism. We name this prism the “Malaita accretionary prism” or “MAP” after Malaita, the largest and best-studied island exposure of the accretionary prism in the Solomon Islands. MCS data, gravity data, and stratigraphic correlations to islands and ODP sites on the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) reveal that the offshore MAP is composed of folded and thrust faulted sedimentary rocks and upper crystalline crust offscraped from the Solomon the subducting Ontong Java Plateau (Pacific plate) and transferred to the Solomon arc. With the exception of an upper, sequence of Quaternary? island-derived terrigenous sediments, the deformed stratigraphy of the MAP is identical to that of the incoming Ontong Java Plateau in the North Solomon trench.

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More information

Published date: 2004
Keywords: Malaita accretionary prism, Solomon arc, Ontong Java Plateau, Arc polarity reversal

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 52445
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/52445
ISSN: 0040-1951
PURE UUID: ba3af3cf-9ef2-423b-81ad-8cd16caeb1d8

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Date deposited: 26 Jun 2008
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 10:37

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Contributors

Author: E.J. Phinney
Author: P. Mann
Author: M.F. Coffin
Author: T.H. Shipley

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