Cenozoic volcanic rocks of North Kamchatka: In search of subduction zones

Autor: A. V. Solov’ev, M. N. Shapiro
Rok vydání: 2011
Předmět:
Zdroj: Geotectonics. 45:210-224
ISSN: 1556-1976
0016-8521
DOI: 10.1134/s0016852111030071
Popis: Two belts of subaerial volcanic rocks—the Eocene Kinkil belt and the Neogene belt of the Sredinny Range—extend along the Kamchatka Isthmus. It is suggested that their formation is related to subduction of the oceanic lithosphere beneath the continental margin of North Kamchatka. The oceanic lithosphere consumed in the subduction zones could have been formed as a result of active spreading in the Komandorsky Basin. In the simplest case, both spreading and subduction reflect the northwestward motion of the lithosphere of the Komandorsky Plate relative to Kamchatka, the Shirshov Ridge, and the Aleutian Basin combined into one relatively immobile plate conventionally called the North American Plate. The authors perform a simulation of conjugate spreading and subduction. The most important parameter determining the regional geodynamics—the velocity of the Komandorsky Plate moving relative to the North American Plate—is taken as 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 cm/yr. The calculated ages of the onset and end of volcanic activity in the aforementioned belts are compared with the dates obtained with the isotopic and paleontological methods. For the Eocene Kinkil belt, where volcanism started 44 Ma ago, the model age of the onset of subduction depends on the accepted velocity of the motion of the Komandorsky Plate and varies from 54 Ma at the velocity of 2.5 cm/yr to 47.5 Ma at the velocity of 7.5 cm/yr. It can be assumed that the model of fast subduction in this age interval is most consistent with the geological data. For the Miocene-Pliocene belt of the Sredinny Range, assuming the velocity of the motion of the Komandorsky Plate at 5.0 and 7.5 cm/yr, multiple rifting at the boundary with the Shirshov Ridge should be assumed. Therefore, for the end of the Neogene, a model with low velocity (2.5–5.0 cm/yr, i.e., about 4.0 cm/yr) is preferable.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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