Preliminary results of seismic reflection investigations and associated geophysical studies in the area of the Antarctic Peninsula

Abstract

A geophysical data set including some 1400 km of reflection seismic profiles and 17000 km of gravity lines was recorded in the waters north-west of the Antarctic Peninsula during the austral spring cruise of RV Polarstern (October to December 1987). These data form a contribution to the earlier and continuing studies dealing with the tectonics of Bransfield Strait, the structure of the South Shetland Trench, and the segmentation of the adjacent oceanic crust. The seismic profiles and gravity data illustrate among other features the differential extension of Bransfield Strait and the structure and morphology of the former converging plate boundary, which vary corresponding to the time of the last ridge trench collision. Observations have been made about the active character of several oceanic fracture zones in time which meet the former plate boundary.