Jurassic to Eocene plate tectonic reconstructions in the Kerguelen Plateau region

Abstract

Presents a series of preliminary reconstructions for the Kerguelen Plateau region from the Late Jurassic to the Eocene. The development of the Indian and adjacent Southern oceans began in Middle to Late Jurassic time with the breakup of Gondwana. Between the Jurassic and the Late Cretaceous, time controls on the plate tectonic evolution of the region are few. Mesozoic marine magnetic anomalies off the shore of East Africa, Antarctica, and Western Australia document plate motions during the interval; however, extensive areas of oceanic crust from which no anomalies have been identified, and a dearth of fracture zones prevent detailed links with the much better defined plate kinematic synthesis for the past 84 m.y. The Kerguelen Plateau/Broken Ridge complex was emplaced at 110 Ma. Between then and 43 Ma, when seafloor spreading between the Kerguelen Plateau and Broken Ridge began, the model includes transform motions between the northern and southern sectors of the Kerguelen Plateau. -from Authors