Collaborative Research: The Connection Between Mid-Cenozoic Seafloor Spreading and the Western Ross Sea Embayment

这项工作将对南极洲阿达雷尔角附近的海床进行海洋地球物理调查。从Adare盆地南端到Ross Embayment的北部盆地和中央海槽的北部，将获得磁、重力、长条测深和多通道地震数据。先前的调查记录了4300万到2600万年前170公里的区域延伸，这导致了阿达尔盆地的海底扩张。然而，Adare盆地向整体伸展与Ross海湾的南向陆相盆地的关系尚未建立。这种关系对于理解南极洲东部和西部的构造演化以及将太平洋板块运动与世界其他地区联系起来至关重要。该研究还将通过研究海洋和大陆岩石圈之间的裂谷转换，为裂谷过程提供独特的见解。就更广泛的影响而言，该项目将支持两名研究生和本科生的实地研究经验。该项目还涉及来自美国、澳大利亚、新西兰和日本的科学家之间的合作。

This work will perform a marine geophysical survey of sea floor spreading off Cape Adare, Antarctica. Magnetic, gravity, swath bathymetry and multi-channel seismic data will be acquired from the southern end of the Adare Basin to the northern parts of the Northern Basin and Central Trough in the Ross Embayment. Previous surveys documented 170 km of regional extension between forty-three and twenty-six million years ago, which resulted in some seafloor spreading in the Adare Basin. However, the relationship of Adare Basin spreading to the overall extension and the southward continental basins of the Ross Embayment has not been established. This relationship is critical to understanding the tectonic evolution of East and West Antarctica and linking Pacific plate motions to the rest of the world. The study will also offer unique insight into rifting processes by studying the transition of rifting between oceanic and continental lithosphere. In terms of broader impacts, this project will support two graduate students and field research experience for undergraduates. The project also involves cooperation between scientists from the US, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.