Mid-Cretaceous Tectonic Evolution of the Tongareva Triple Junction in the Southwest Pacific Basin

该项目将检验西南太平洋盆地部分地区白垩纪中期构造演化的假设。 该假说认为，在翁通爪哇和马尼希基高原的热点火山活动停止后不久，板块构造重组发生，位于新坎顿海槽的太平洋、法拉伦和菲尼克斯板块之间的三重交界处转移到了马尼希基高原的东北角。 具有多波束测深、侧扫、磁力计以及船载和卫星重力的水下航行器将确定三重连接点的轨道。

This project will test a hypothesis for the mid-Cretaceous tectonic evolution of a portion of the southwest Pacific Basin. The hypothesis suggests that a plate-tectonic reorganization occurred soon after hotspot volcanism ceased on the Ontong Java and Manihiki plateaus, and the triple junction among the Pacific, Farallon, and Phoenix plates that had been located at the Nova Canton trough shifted to the northeast corner of the Manihiki plateau. A usrvey with multibeam bathymetric, side-scan, magnetometer, and shipboard and satellite gravity will determine the track of the triple junction.