The role of arc migration in the development of the Lesser Antilles: A new tectonic model for the Cenozoic evolution of the eastern Caribbean
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Issue date
12/08/2019Submitted date
2020-04-07Subject Terms
Caribbean regioncrust
Antilles
Cenozoic
geophysical methods
faults
Lesser Antilles
plate tectonics
West Indies
Tertiary
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Continental arc systems often show evidence of large-scale migration both toward and away from the incoming plate. In oceanic arc systems, however, while slab roll-back and the associated processes of backarc spreading and arc migration toward the incoming plate are commonplace, arc migration away from the incoming plate is rarely observed. We present a new compilation of marine magnetic anomaly and seismic data in order to propose a new tectonic model for the eastern Caribbean region that includes arc migration in both directions. We synthesized new evidence to show two phases of backarc spreading and eastward arc migration toward the incoming Atlantic. A third and final phase of arc migration to the west subdivided the earlier backarc basin on either side of the present-day Lesser Antilles arc. This is the first example of regional multidirectional arc migration in an intra-oceanic setting, and it has implications for along-arc structural and geochemical variations. The back and forth arc migrations were probably due to the constraints imposed by the neighboring American plates on this isolated subduction system, rather than variations in subducting slab buoyancy.Citation
R.W. Allen, J.S. Collier, A.G. Stewart, T. Henstock, S. Goes, A. Rietbrock, the VoiLA Team; The role of arc migration in the development of the Lesser Antilles: A new tectonic model for the Cenozoic evolution of the eastern Caribbean. Geology ; 47 (9): 891–895. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G46708.1Publisher
Geological Society of AmericaJournal
GeologyDOI
10.1130/g46708.1Type
Journal ArticleItem Description
© 2019 The Authors. Gold Open Access: This paper is published under the terms of the CC-BY license.NHM Repository
ISSN
0091-7613ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1130/g46708.1
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