| Popis: |
Short Sea-Beam survey cruises were conducted by the R.V. “Jean Charcot” in march 1980 along the Middle America Trench between Panama and Acapulco, with particular emphasis on the IPOD Legs 66 and 67 areas. These detailed mappings have revealed that the Cocos horst- and graben pattern, related to the bending of the oceanic plate, strikes generally 20°–30° oblique to the trench direction. This en-echelon pattern, closely parallel to the magnetic anomalies, is here proposed as being due to the reactivation of inherited fractures generated at the East Pacific Rise. Sea-Beam data, together with UTMSI multichannel seismic reflection profiles and IPOD drilling results, clearly show that at least two distinct geodynamic processes are presently working along the same trench: accretion and no accretion. They also show a relative structural homogeneity of the oceanic side of the trench in contrast to the dual aspect of the continental side. |
