From strike-slip faulting to oblique subduction: A survey of the Alpine Fault-Puysegur Trench transition,New Zealand,results of cruise Geodynz-sud leg 2

The Geodynz-sud cruise on board the R/V l'Atalante collected bathymetric, side-scan sonar and seismic reflection data along the obliquely convergent boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates southwest of the South Island, New Zealand. The survey area extended from 44°05 S to 49°40 S, covering the transition zone between the offshore extension of the Alpine Fault and the Puysegur Trench and Puysegur Ridge. Based on variations in the nature and structure of the crust on either side of the margin, the plate boundary zone can be divided into three domains with distinctive structural and sedimentary characteristics. The northern domain involves subduction of probably thinned continental crust of the southern Challenger Plateau beneath the continental crust of Fiordland. It is characterized by thick sediments on the downgoing slab and a steep continental slope disrupted by fault scarps and canyons. The middle domain marks the transition between subduction of likely continental and oceanic crust defined by a series of en echelon ridges on the downgoing slab. This domain is characterized by a large collapse terrace on the continental slope which appears to be due to the collision of the en echelon ridges with the plate margin. The southern domain involves subduction of oceanic crust beneath continental and oceanic crust. This domain is characterized by exposed fabric of seafloor spreading on the downgoing slab, a steep inner trench wall and linear ridges and valleys on the Puysegur ridge crest. The data collected on this cruise provide insights into the nature and history of both plates, and factors influencing the distribution of strike-slip and compressive strain and the evolution of subduction processes along a highly oblique convergent margin.     

Crustal structure and deformation associated with seamount subduction at the north Manila Trench represented by analog and gravity modeling

We investigated the deformation in the accretionary wedge associated with subducted seamounts in the northern Manila Trench by combining observations from seismic profiles and results from laboratory sandbox experiments. From three seismic reflection profiles oriented approximately perpendicular to the trench, we observed apparent variations in structural deformation along the trench. A number of back-thrust faults were formed in the accretionary wedge where subducted seamounts were identified. In contrast, observable back-thrusts were quite rare along the profile without seamounts, indicating that seamount subduction played an important role in deformation of the accretionary wedge. We then conducted laboratory sandbox experiments to investigate the effects of subducted seamounts on the structural deformation of the accretionary wedge. From the analog modeling results we found that seamount subduction could cause well-developed back-thrusts, gravitational collapse, and micro-fractures in the wedge. We also found that a seamount may induce normal faults in the wedge and that normal faults may be eroded by subsequent seamount subduction. In addition, we constrained the crustal structure of the South China Sea plate from modeling free-air gravity data. The dip angle of the subducting plate, which was constrained by hypocenters of available earthquakes, increased from south to north in the northern Manila Trench. We found a laterally heterogeneous density distribution of the oceanic crust according to the gravity data. The density of subducted crust is ~2.92 g/cm³, larger than that of the South China Sea crust (2.88 g/cm³).     

Bathymetry of the Tonga Trench and Forearc: a map series

Four new bathymetric maps of the Tonga Trench and forearc between 14 °S and 27 °S display the important morphologic and structural features of this dynamic convergent margin. The maps document a number of important geologic features of the margin. Major normal faults and fault lineaments on the Tonga platform can be traced along and across the upper trench slope. Numerous submarine canyons incised in the landward slope of the trench mark the pathways of sediment transport from the platform to mid- and lower-slope basins. Discontinuities in the trench axis and changes in the morphology of the landward slope can be clearly documented and may be associated with the passage and subduction of the Louisville Ridge and other structures on the subducting Pacific Plate. Changes in the morphology of the forearc as convergence changes from normal in the south to highly-oblique in the north are clearly documented. The bathymetric compilations, gridded at 500- and 200-m resolutions and extending along 500 km of the landward trench slope and axis, provide complete coverage of the outer forearc from the latitude of the Louisville Ridge-Tonga Trench collision to the northern terminus of the Tonga Ridge. These maps should serve as a valuable reference for other sea-going programs in the region, particularly the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) and the National Science Foundation MARGINS initiative.     

Limited differences among habitats in deep‐sea macro‐infaunal communities off New Zealand: implications for their vulnerability to anthropogenic disturbance

The spread of human activities into the deep sea may pose a high risk to benthic communities and affect ecosystem integrity. The deep sea is characterized by physical and biological heterogeneity and different habitat types are likely to differ in their vulnerability to anthropogenic impacts. However, across‐habitat comparisons are rare, and no comprehensive ecological risk assessment has yet been developed. To address this gap in our knowledge, we compared macro‐infaunal community structure in four habitats (slope, canyons, seamounts and methane seeps) at depths between 700 and 1500 m in the Hikurangi Margin and Bay of Plenty regions off New Zealand. The most striking contrast in community structure was between the two study regions, due to an order of magnitude difference in macro‐infaunal abundance that we believe was caused by differences in surface productivity and food availability at the sea bed. We found differences in structural and functional attributes of macro‐infaunal communities among some habitats in the Hikurangi Margin (slope, canyon and seep), but not in the Bay of Plenty. We posit that differences between canyon and slope communities on the Hikurangi Margin are due to enhanced food availability inside canyons compared with adjacent slope habitats. Seep communities were characterized by elevated abundance of both symbiont‐bearing and heterotrophic taxa, and were the most distinct, and variable, among the habitats that we considered on the Hikurangi Margin. Communities of seamounts were not distinct from slope or canyon communities on the Hikurangi Margin, probably reflecting similar environmental conditions in these habitats. The communities of deep‐sea canyon and seep habitats on the Hikurangi Margin were sufficiently dissimilar from each other and from slope habitats to warrant separate management consideration. By contrast, the low dissimilarity between communities of canyon and slope habitats in the Bay of Plenty suggests that habitat‐based management is not required in this region, for macro‐infauna at least. Although the two study regions share similar species pools, populations of the Hikurangi Margin region may be less vulnerable than the sparser populations of the Bay of Plenty due to the higher availability of potential colonizers and faster population growth. Thus regions, and habitats in some regions, should be subject to separate ecological risk assessment to help identify the key risks and consequences of human activities, and to inform options for reducing or mitigating impacts.     

Regional structure and tectonic history of the obliquely colliding Columbus foreland basin, offshore Trinidad and Venezuela

Cenozoic eastward migration of the Caribbean plate relative to the South American plate is recorded by an 1100-km-long Venezuela-Trinidad foreland basin which is oldest in western Venezuela (65-55 Ma), of intermediate age in eastern Venezuela (34-20 Ma) and youngest beneath the shelf and slope area of eastern offshore Trinidad (submarine Columbus basin, 15.0 Ma-Recent). In this study of the regional structure, fault families, and chronology of faulting and tectonic events affecting the hydrocarbon-rich Columbus foreland basin of eastern offshore Trinidad, we have integrated approximately 775 km of deep-penetration 2D seismic lines acquired by the 2004 Broadband Ocean-Land Investigations of Venezuela and the Antilles arc Region (BOLIVAR) survey, 325 km of vintage GULFREX seismic data collected by Gulf Oil Company in 1974, and published industry well data that can be tied to some of the seismic reflection lines. Top Cretaceous depth structure maps in the Columbus basin made from integration of all available seismic and well data define for the first time the elongate subsurface geometry of the 11-15 km thick and highly asymmetrical middle Miocene-Recent depocenter of the Columbus basin. The main depocenter located 150-200 km east of Trinidad and now the object of deepwater hydrocarbon exploration is completely filled by shelf and deepwater sediments derived mainly from the Orinoco delta. The submarine Darien ridge exhibits moderate (20-140 m) seafloor relief, forms the steep (12°-24°), northern structural boundary of the Columbus basin, and is known from industry wells to be composed of 0.5-4.5 km thick, folded and thrust-imbricated, hydrocarbon-bearing section of Cretaceous and early Tertiary limestones and clastic rocks. The eastern and southern boundaries of the basin are formed by the gently (1.7°-4.5°), northward-dipping Cretaceous-Paleogene passive margin of South America that is in turn underlain by Precambrian rocks of the Guyana shield.Interpretation of seismic sections tied to wells reveals the following fault chronology: (1) middle Miocene thrusting along the Darien ridge related to highly oblique convergence between the Caribbean plate and the passive margin of northern South America; continuing thrusting and transpression in an oblique foreland basin setting through the early Pleistocene; (2) early Pliocene-recent low-angle normal faults along the top of the Cretaceous passive margin; these faults were triggered by oversteepening related to formation of the downdip, structurally and bathymetrically deeper, and more seaward Columbus basin; large transfer faults with dominantly strike-slip displacements connect gravity-driven normal faults that cluster near the modern shelf-slope break and trend in the downslope direction; to the south no normal faults are present because the top Cretaceous horizon has not been oversteepened as it is adjacent to the foreland basin; (3) early Pliocene-Recent strike-slip faults parallel the trend of the Darien ridge and accommodate present-day plate motions.     

Rapid subsidence of the Kikai Seamount inferred from drowned Pleistocene coral limestone: Implication for subduction of the Amami Plateau,northern Philippine Sea

Carbonate rock cores drilled on the Kikai Seamount, northern Philippine Sea are examined for better understanding of tectonic history of the northern Philippine Sea. The Kikai Seamount, the summit of which is at 1960 m water depth, is an isolated high on the northwestern part of the Amami Plateau formed by subduction-related arc volcanism, and is situated close to the axis of the Ryukyu Trench in front of the Ryukyu Arc, SW Japan. The seamount is capped with shallow-water carbonates such as coral rudstone. Detailed examinations of lithology, larger foraminiferal assemblages, and Sr isotope composition reveal that the core material comprises Miocene carbonates unconformably overlain by Early Pleistocene carbonates. It indicates rapid subsidence of the Kikai Seamount since the Early Pleistocene. The most probable cause of rapid subsidence is collision and subduction of the Amami Plateau laden with the Kikai Seamount. The rapid subsidence may have started when the western corner of the plateau reached the Ryukyu Trench and began subduction beneath the Ryukyu Arc. The onset of the subsidence is likely to be controlled by a motion change in the Philippine Sea Plate. The latest change in subduction direction from north to northwestward into northwestward to west has been believed to have occurred at 1-2 Ma during latest Pliocene to Early Pleistocene time. The change of direction resulted in the shift from oblique into right-angle subduction of the plate beneath the Ryukyu Arc and also the onset of the collision and subduction of the Amami Plateau.     

A multibeam reconnaissance of the Tonga Trench axis and its intersection with the Louisville guyot chain

A Seabeam reconnaissance of 1200 km of the deep sediment-starved axis of Tonga Trench delineated the fine-scale relief at the outcrop of a subduction zone generally characterized by tectonic erosion rather than accretion. The commonest axial cross-section has a steep (12°) irregular inner slope intersecting the thinly sedimented surface of Mesozoic ocean crust, which dips under it at 5–6°. There is little or no intervening turbidite fill, but small lenses interpreted as debris deposits occur at the foot of parts of the inner slope that lack basins or benches which elsewhere obstruct downslope sediment transport. The oceanic slope is severely broken by parallel but slightly sinuous fractures induced by bending of the plate, and entry of outer-slope grabens into the subduction zone is confirmed to be a morphologically and tectonically important process. Arrival of oceanic seamounts and volcanic ridges at the trench outer slope and axis affects the fracture pattern of the oceanic plate, the depth of the temporarily plugged axis, and the relief of the lower inner slope. Subduction of the Louisville guyot chain, or of the extensive hotspot swell and thick sediment apron that surrounds it, has important regional effects as well, shoaling 400 km of trench axis and causing development of a small accretionary prism with trench-slope basins. Because the intersection point of the hot-spot chain has moved rapidly south along the trench, structural changes that occur in the wake of guyot-chain subduction can also be inferred: accretion at the inner slope is followed by rapid tectonic erosion, which unroofs a wider strip of downgoing lithosphere and thereby deepens the trench axis. The longitudinal profile of axial depths, made locally irregular by the collision of medium-scale volcanic and tectonic relief on the oceanic plate, also has a step near 18.5° S, where there is a regional depth difference in the oceanic crust entering the trench.     

The Trobriand Subduction System in the Western Solomon Sea

A south-dipping Subduction system which underlies the Trobriand Trough and 149° Embayment, on the southern margin of the Solomon Sea, is active or was recently active. Oceanic basement is overlain by 2.5 s, two-way travel time (TWTT), of sediment that shows at least two stages of deformation: early thrusts (inner wall) and normal faults (outer wall), and later normal faults that have elevated the outer trench margin. Thrust anticlines and slope basins are developed on the inner wall. The floor of the Solomon Sea Basin arches upward between the Trobriand Trough and the New Britain Trench to form isolated peaks and ridges in the east (152° Peaks) and an east-west Central Ridge in the west. Structures in the subduction system, and in the Solomon Sea Basin, plunge westward towards the point of collision with the New Britain Trench.     

Tasmante cruise: Swath-mapping and underway geophysics south and west of Tasmania

The 1994 Tasmante swath-mapping and reflection seismic cruise covered 200 000 km² of sea floor south and west of Tasmania. The survey provided a wealth of morphological, structural and sedimentological information, in an area of critical importance in reconstructing the break-up of East Gondwana.The west Tasmanian margin consists of a non-depositional continental shelf less than 50 km wide and a sedimented continental slope about 100 km wide. The adjacent 20 km of abyssal plain to the west is heavily sedimented, and beyond that is lightly sedimented Eocene oceanic crust formed as Australia and Antarctica separated. The swath data revealed systems of 100 m-deep downslope canyons and large lower-slope fault-blocks, striking 320° and dipping landward. These continental blocks lie adjacent to the continent ocean boundary (COB) and are up to 2500 m high and have 15°–20° scarps.The South Tasman Rise (STR) is bounded to the west by the Tasman Fracture Zone extending south to Antarctica. Adjacent to the STR, the fracture zone is represented by a scarp up to 2000 m high with slopes of 15–20°. The scarp consists of continental faultblocks dipping landward. Beyond the scarp to the west is a string of sheared parallel highs, and beyond that is lightly sedimented Oligocene oceanic crust 4200–4600 m deep with distinct E-W spreading fabric. The eastern margin of the bathymetric STR trends about 320° and is structurally controlled. The depression between it and the continental East Tasman Plateau (ETP) is heavily sedimented; its western part is underlain by thinned continental crust and its central part by oceanic crust of Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary age. The southern margin of the STR is formed by N-S transform faults and south-dipping normal faults.The STR is cut into two major terrains by a N-S fracture zone at 146°15E. The western terrain is characterised by rotated basement blocks and intervening basins mostly trending 270°–290°. The eastern terrain is characterised by basement blocks and intervening strike-slip basins trending 300°–340°. Recent dredging of basement rocks suggests that the western terrain has Antarctic affinities, whereas the eastern terrain has Tasmanian affinities.Stretching and slow spreading between Australia and Antarctica was in a NW direction from 130–45 Ma, and fast spreading was in a N-S direction thereafter. The western STR terrain was attached to Antarctica during the early movement, and moved down the west coast of Tasmania along a 320° shear zone, forming the landward-dipping continental blocks along the present COB. The eastern terrain either moved with the western terrain, or was welded to it along the 146°15 E fracture zone in the Early Tertiary. At 45 Ma, fast spreading started in a N-S direction, and after some probable movement along the 146°15E fracture zone, the west and east STR terrains were welded together and became part of Australia.     

Geology,sediment patterns,and widespread deformation on the sea floor off Western Samoa revealed by wide-swath imagery

GLORIA and SeaMARC II sea-floor images of offshore Western Samoa reveal large-scale mass movements, volcanism, and structural modification. These processes are driven by hot-spot mantle diapirism and nearby plate subduction. Debris avalanche deposits extend from the island slope onto the adjacent abyssal plains, covering at least 20,000 km². Sediment flows occur in sheets up to 30 km wide; slump structures are common on steep slopes. Volcanic cones and lava sheets are evident on lower slopes and abyssal plains. Major volcanic rift zones on the island of Savaii continue offshore. Subduction-induced flexure has produced intense tensional fracturing on the outer wall of the Tonga Trench.     

The 1500-km-long Hikurangi Channel: Trench-axis channel that escapes its trench,crosses a plateau,and feeds a fan drift

The Hikurangi Channel, east of New Zealand, is one of the earth's major, active, sediment conduits between rising mountains and ocean basin. About 1500 km long, it uniquely incorporates most variations of canyon—channel systems worldwide. An apical canyon feeds a meandering, aggradational, trench-axis channel. This diverts, 800 km from the source, across an oceanic plateau. There, an oceanic-type channel has become incised over 500 m at the plateau-edge scarp. Beyond the scarp, distributary fan channels supply sediment to the Pacific's Deep Western Boundary Current and one distributary merges into a boundary channel.     

Neogene sediment thickness and Miocene basin-floor fan systems of the Celebes Sea

In the Celebes Sea Basin the Middle Miocene turbidites were correlated from ODP site 767 throughout the studied area. Differences in their regional thickness variations and distribution indicate two source areas. The Middle Miocene turbidite–fan complexes of the central and southern Celebes Sea Basin are controlled by the paleo-Tarakan delta system, the tectonic events and the basin floor morphology, respectively. The main source area for the time correlative turbidites along the southern Sulu Arc is assumed to be Mindanao.The correlation of the Middle Miocene to Pleistocene sequences exhibit tentative ages for the development of the accretionary wedges along the Cotabato Trench and along the North Sulawesi subduction. A post-Middle Miocene to pre-Pliocene age is inferred for the Cotabato wedge and a Plio-Pleistocene age is assumed for the North Sulawesi wedge.     

Geological Characteristics and Distribution of Submarine Physiographic Features in the Taiwan Region

The sea floor topography around Taiwan is characterized by the asymmetry of its shallow and flat shelves to the west and markedly deep troughs and basins to the south and east. Tectonics and sedimentation are major controls in forming the submarine physiographic features around Taiwan. Three Pliocene-Quaternary shelves are distributed north and west of Taiwan: East China Sea Shelf (passive margin shelf), the Taiwan Strait Shelf (foreland shelf), and Kaoping Shelf (island shelf) from north to south parallel to the strike of Taiwan orogen. Off northeastern Taiwan major morpho/tectonic features associated with plate subduction include E-W trending Ryukyu Trench, Yaeyama accretionary wedge, forearc basins, the Ryukyu Arcs, and the backarc basin of southern Okinawa Trough. Off eastern Taiwan lies the deep Huatung Basin on the Philippine Sea plate with a relatively flat floor, although several large submarine canyons are eroding and crossing the basin floor. Off southeastern Taiwan, the forearc region of the Luzon Arc has been deformed into five alternating N-S trending ridges and troughs during initial arc-continent collision. Among them, the submarine Hengchun Ridge is the seaward continuation of the Hengchun peninsula in southern Taiwan. Off southwestern Taiwan, the broad Kaoping Slope is the major submarine topographic feature with several noticeable submarine canyons. The Penghu Canyon separates this slope from the South China Sea Slope to the west and merges southwards into the Manila Trench in the northern South China Sea. Although most of sea floors of the Taiwan Strait are shallower than 60 m in water depth, there are three noticeable bathymetric lows and two highs in the Taiwan Strait. There exists a close relationship between hydrography and topography in the Taiwan Strait. The circulation of currents in the Taiwan Strait is strongly influenced by seasonal monsoon and semidiurnal tides. The Penghu Channel-Yunchang Ridge can be considered a modern tidal depositional system. The Taiwan Strait shelf has two phases of development. The early phase of the rift margin has developed during Paleoocene-Miocene and it has evolved to the foreland basin in Pliocene-Quaternary time. The present shelf morphology results mainly from combined effects of foreland subsidence and modern sedimentation overprinting that of the Late Pleistocene glaciation about 15,000 years ago.     

Deformation Patterns of an Accretionary Wedge in the Transition Zone from Subduction to Collision Offshore Southwestern Taiwan

Swath bathymetry data and seismic reflection profiles have been used to investigate details of the deformation pattern in the area offshore southwestern Taiwan where the Luzon subduction complex encroaches on the passive Chinese continental margin. Distinctive fold-and-thrust structures of the convergent zone and horst-and-graben structures of the passive margin are separated by a deformation front that extends NNW-ward from the eastern edge of the Manila Trench to the foot of the continental slope. This deformation front gradually turns into a NNE–SSW trending direction across the continental slope and the Kaoping Shelf, and connects to the frontal thrusts of the mountain belt on land Taiwan. However, the complex Penghu submarine canyon system blurs the exact location of the deformation front and nature of many morphotectonic features offshore SW Taiwan. We suggest that the deformation front offshore SW Taiwan does not appear as a simple structural line, but is characterized by a series of N–S trending folds and thrusts that terminate sequentially in an en-echelon pattern across the passive Chinese continental slope. A number of NE–SW trending lineaments cut across the fold-and-thrust structures of the frontal accretionary wedge and exhibit prominent dextral displacement indicative of the lateral expulsion of SW Taiwan. One of the prominent lineaments, named the Yung-An lineament, forms the southeastern boundary of the upper part of the Penghu submarine canyon, and has conspicuous influence over the drainage pattern of the canyon     

Oblique subduction of the Gagua Ridge beneath the Ryukyu accretionary wedge system: Insights from marine observations and sandbox experiments

The Gagua Ridge, carried by the Philippine Sea Plate, is subducting obliquely beneath the southernmost Ryukyu Margin. Bathymetric swath-mapping, performed during the ACT survey (Active Collision in Taiwan), indicates that, due to the high obliquity of plate convergence, slip partitioning occurs within the Ryukyu accretionary wedge. A transcurrent fault, trending N95° E, is observed at the rear of the accretionary wedge. Evidence of right lateral motion along this shear zone, called the Yaeyama Fault, suggests that it accommodates part of the lateral component of the oblique convergence. The subduction of the ridge disturbs this tectonic setting and significantly deforms the Ryukyu Margin. The ridge strongly indents the front of the accretionary wedge and uplifts part of the forearc basin. In the frontal part of the margin, directly in the axis of the ridge, localized transpressive and transtensional structures can be observed superimposed on the uplifted accretionary complex. As shown by sandbox experiments, these N330° E to N30° E trending fractures result from the increasing compressional stress induced by the subduction of the ridge. Analog experiments have also shown that the reentrant associated with oblique ridge subduction exhibits a specific shape that can be correlated with the relative plate motion azimuth.These data, together with the study of the margin deformation, the uplift of the forearc basin and geodetic data, show that the subduction of the Gagua Ridge beneath the accretionary wedge occurs along an azimuth which is about 20° less oblique than the convergence between the PSP and the Ryukyu Arc. Taking into account the opening of the Okinawa backarc basin and partitioning at the rear of the accretionary wedge, convergence between the ridge and the overriding accretionary wedge appears to be close to N345° E and thus, occurs at a rate close to 9 cm yr^–1. As a result, we estimate that a motion of 3.7 cm yr^–1±0.7 cm should be absorbed along the transcurrent fault. Based on these assumptions, the plate tectonic reconstruction reveals that the subducted segment of the Gagua Ridge, associated with the observable margin deformations, could have started subducting less than 1 m.y. ago.     

Geological Characteristics and Distribution of Submarine Physiographic Features in the Taiwan Region

The sea floor topography around Taiwan is characterized by the asymmetry of its shallow and flat shelves to the west and markedly deep troughs and basins to the south and east. Tectonics and sedimentation are major controls in forming the submarine physiographic features around Taiwan. Three Pliocene-Quaternary shelves are distributed north and west of Taiwan: East China Sea Shelf (passive margin shelf), the Taiwan Strait Shelf (foreland shelf), and Kaoping Shelf (island shelf) from north to south parallel to the strike of Taiwan orogen. Off northeastern Taiwan major morpho/tectonic features associated with plate subduction include E-W trending Ryukyu Trench, Yaeyama accretionary wedge, forearc basins, the Ryukyu Arcs, and the backarc basin of southern Okinawa Trough. Off eastern Taiwan lies the deep Huatung Basin on the Philippine Sea plate with a relatively flat floor, although several large submarine canyons are eroding and crossing the basin floor. Off southeastern Taiwan, the forearc region of the Luzon Arc has been deformed into five alternating N-S trending ridges and troughs during initial arc-continent collision. Among them, the submarine Hengchun Ridge is the seaward continuation of the Hengchun peninsula in southern Taiwan. Off southwestern Taiwan, the broad Kaoping Slope is the major submarine topographic feature with several noticeable submarine canyons. The Penghu Canyon separates this slope from the South China Sea Slope to the west and merges southwards into the Manila Trench in the northern South China Sea. Although most of sea floors of the Taiwan Strait are shallower than 60?m in water depth, there are three noticeable bathymetric lows and two highs in the Taiwan Strait. There exists a close relationship between hydrography and topography in the Taiwan Strait. The circulation of currents in the Taiwan Strait is strongly influenced by seasonal monsoon and semidiurnal tides. The Penghu Channel-Yunchang Ridge can be considered a modern tidal depositional system. The Taiwan Strait shelf has two phases of development. The early phase of the rift margin has developed during Paleoocene-Miocene and it has evolved to the foreland basin in Pliocene-Quaternary time. The present shelf morphology results mainly from combined effects of foreland subsidence and modern sedimentation overprinting that of the Late Pleistocene glaciation about 15,000 years ago.     

Regional geomorphology of the continental slope of NW India: Delineation of the signatures of deep‐seated structures

Geomorphological features (derived from 16,000 lkm of echo‐sounding and bathymetric data) and deep‐seated tectonic structures of the continental margin off NW India are presented. The shelf break over the entire region occurs between 80 to 154 m water depth, and adjacent to Saurashtra and Bombay High the depth and orientation of the shelf edge show marked variations. The boundary of the slope is shallower in the northern portion (about 1450 m in the vicinity of the Indus) than in the southern region (2900 m off Bombay).

The steep slope off the Gulf of Kachchh has relatively smooth physiography due to higher input of fluvial sediment and burial of structures. The gentler slope off Saurashtra and the Bombay High area has numerous complex features, the most prominent among them being benches at depths of 180–230 m (width 2–10 km) and 650–780 m and a series of bathymetric highs and lows. Slope breaks are also observed between 400 and 600 m off Bombay and between 560 and 960 m off Saurashtra. These features are surface manifestations of the anticlinal features extending along the shelf in this region. Unevenness (order of 100–300 m) due to slumping is also observed at the base of the slope.

Based on the correlation between tectonic structures of this area and these subphysiographic features, extension of the Saurashtra Anticline onto the slope, a new strike slip fault (the southern boundary fault of Narmada graben) and an along‐shelf anticlinal structure off Saurashtra are delineated.     

Choice of reference surface for geostrophic currents around New Zealand

The depths of reference surfaces for determining geostrophic currents in the Tasman and South‐western Pacific Basins and in the Hikurangi Trench are examined using Defant's method for the determination of the “layer of no motion”. These depths are then checked by comparing the directions of the resulting currents with the direction of flow deduced from hydrological evidence and, in the Hikurangi Trench, from an examination of the correlation between surface currents and the mass field. On this basis the reference surface was found to be at 2300 dbars in the Tasman Basin, 2000–2500 dbars in the Southwestern Pacific Basin and >1500 dbars in the head of the Hikurangi Trench.     

Gas hydrate formation in compressional,extensional and un-faulted structural settings – Examples from New Zealand's Hikurangi margin

We investigate gas hydrate formation processes in compressional, extensional and un-faulted settings on New Zealand's Hikurangi margin using seismic reflection data. The compressional setting is characterized by a prominent subduction wedge thrust fault that terminates beneath the base of gas hydrate stability, as determined from a bottom-simulating reflection (BSR). The thrust is surrounded by steeply dipping strata that cross the BSR at a high angle. Above the BSR, these strata are associated with a high velocity anomaly that is likely indicative of relatively concentrated, and broadly distributed, gas hydrates. The un-faulted setting—sedimentary infill of a slope basin on the landward side of a prominent thrust ridge—is characterized by a strong BSR, a thick underlying free gas zone, and short positive polarity reflection segments that extend upward from the BSR. We interpret the short reflection segments as the manifestation of gas hydrates within relatively coarse-grained sediments. The extensional setting is a localized, shallow response to flexural bending of strata within an anticline. Gas has accumulated beneath the BSR in the apex of folding. A high-velocity zone directly above the BSR is probably mostly lithologically-derived, and only partly related to gas hydrates. Although each setting shows evidence for focused gas migration into the gas hydrate stability zone, we interpret that the compressional tectonic setting is most likely to contain concentrated gas hydrates over a broad region. Indeed, it is the only setting associated with a deep-reaching fault, meaning it is the most likely of the three settings to have thermogenic gas contributing to hydrate formation. Our results highlight the importance of anisotropic permeability in layered sediments and the role this plays in directing sub-surface fluid flow, and ultimately in the distribution of gas hydrate. Each of the three settings we describe would warrant further investigation in any future consideration of gas hydrates as an energy resource on the Hikurangi margin.     

Mineral provinces and matter provenance of the surficial sediments in the western Philippine Sea: implication for modern sedimentation in West Pacific marginal basin

The characteristics and distribution patterns of detrital minerals (0.063~0.125 mm) in marine sediments provide a significant indicator for the identification of the origin of sediment.The detrital mineral composition of 219 surface sediment samples was analysed to identify the distribution of sediments within the western Philippine Sea. The area can be divided into three mineral provinces: (I) province east of the Philippine Trench, the detrital minerals in this province are mainly composed of calcareous or siliceous organisms, with the addition of volcanogenic minerals from an adjacent island arc; (II) middle mineral province, clastic minerals including feldspar, quartz and colorless volcanic glass, sourced from seamounts with intermediate-acid volcanic rock, or erupting intermediate-acid volcano; (III) province west of the Palau—Kyūshū Ridge, the matter provenance within this province is complex; the small quantity of feldspar and quartz may be sourced from seamounts or erupting volcano with intermediate-acid composition, with a component of volcanic scoria sourced from a volcano erupting on the Palau—Kyūshū Ridge. it is suggested that, (1) Biogenic debris of the study area is closely related to water depth, with the amount of biogenic debris controlled by carbonate lysocline. (2) Volcaniclastic matter derived from the adjacent island arc can be entrained by oceanic currents and transported towards the abyssal basin over a short distance. The weathering products of volcanic rocks of the submarine plateau (e.g.,Benham Plateau) and adjacent ridges provide an important source of detrital sedimentation, and the influence scope of them is constrained by the intensity of submarine weathering. (3) Terrigenous sediments from the continent of Asia and the adjacent Philippine island arc have little influence on the sedimentation of this study area, and the felsic mineral component is probably sourced from volcanic seamounts of intermediate-acid composition.