Anatomy of a Continental Transform Fault in Tierra del Fuego, South America.

LODOLO, E.; M. .MENICHETTI; A. TASSONE; R. GELETTI

BOLLETTINO DI GEOFISICA TEORICA ED APPLICATA

ISTITUTO NAZIONALE DI OCEANOGRAFIA E DI GEOFISICA

Lugar: Trieste; Año: 2002 vol. 42 p. 67 - 71

0006-6729

Multichannel seismic reflection profiles, gravity measurements and bathymetric soundings, in conjunction with field geological reconnaissance and remote-sensing images, reveal with unprecedented detail the morphostructure of a major segment of the South America-Scotia plate boundary in the Tierra del Fuego region. This segment, known as the Magallanes-Fagnano fault system, is a continental transform margin arranged in an en-echelon geometry, along which prominent asymmetric basins were developed. The fault system runs from the western arm of the Magallanes-Fagnano fault system, is a continental transform margin arranged in an en-echelon geometry, along wich prominent asymmetric basins were developed. The fault system is composed of distinct tectonic lineaments that are segments of the transform system and are represented by mostly near-vertical faults, with polarities that change along the strike of the fault. The sedimentary architecture of the asymmetric basins formed within the principal displacement zone, in which the thick end of the depositional wedge abuts the transform fault, suggest simultaneous strike-slip motion and transform-normal extension, a common feature found in other continental transtensional environments.