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Probing the Australian-Pacific Plate Boundary: Macquarie Ridge in 3D

Session: Imaging Incipient and Fossil Subduction Zones

Type: Oral

Date: 4/22/2021

Presentation Time: 09:45 AM Pacific

Description: 

The Macquarie Ridge Complex (MRC) along the Australian-Pacific plate boundary in the southwest Pacific Ocean is thought to be one of the few locales on the planet where subduction initiation may be imminent. While currently a transpressional boundary, it has played host to some of the largest submarine earthquakes in the world outside of an active subduction zone (for example a M8.2 in 1989), and may hold significant future tsunamigenic potential. Furthermore, Macquarie Island, located within the MRC, is an UNESCO World Heritage site for its unique geology, composed of oceanic crust and mantle that has been thrust from the seafloor to above sea-level since the Late Miocene.

To better understand the intriguing underlying dynamics and tectonics of this plate boundary, an array of 27 ocean-bottom seismometers was deployed in October 2020 by RV Investigator, a first of its kind voyage for Australia’s national research vessel. While OBS instruments are currently recording on the seafloor until late 2021, an overview of the project and its future seismological objectives will be presented.

Presenting Author: Caroline Eakin

Student Presenter: No

Authors