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Bathymetry and geological setting of the South Sandwich Islands volcanic arc

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 March 2016

Philip T. Leat ,
Peter T. Fretwell ,
Alex J. Tate ,
Robert D. Larter ,
Tara J. Martin ,
John L. Smellie ,
Wilfried Jokat  and
Gerhard Bohrmann
Philip T. Leat*
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK Department of Geology, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
Peter T. Fretwell
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
Alex J. Tate
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
Robert D. Larter
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
Tara J. Martin
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK CSIRO GPO Box 1538, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
John L. Smellie
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
Wilfried Jokat
Affiliation:
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Columbusstrasse, D-27568 Bremerhaven and the University of Bremen, Germany
Gerhard Bohrmann
Affiliation:
MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse, D-8359 Bremen, Germany
*
ptle@bas.ac.uk
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Abstract

The South Sandwich Islands and associated seamounts constitute the volcanic arc of an active subduction system situated in the South Atlantic. We introduce a map of the bathymetry and geological setting of the South Sandwich Islands and the associated East Scotia Ridge back-arc spreading centre that consists of two sides: side 1, a regional overview of the volcanic arc, trench and back-arc, and side 2, detailed maps of the individual islands. Side 1 displays the bathymetry at scale 1:750 000 of the intra-oceanic, largely submarine South Sandwich arc, the back-arc system and other tectonic boundaries of the subduction system. Satellite images of the islands on side 2 are at scales of 1:50 000 and 1:25 000 with contours and main volcanological features indicated. These maps are the first detailed topological and bathymetric maps of the area. The islands are entirely volcanic in origin, and most have been volcanically or fumarolically active in historic times. Many of the islands are ice-covered, and the map forms a baseline for future glaciological changes caused by volcanic activities and climate change. The back-arc spreading centre consists of nine segments, most of which have rift-like morphologies.

Keywords

data compilationEast Scotia Ridgesubductionsubmarine volcanismtopographical mapping
Type
Earth Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 28 , Issue 4 , August 2016 , pp. 293 - 303
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Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2016 

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