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Complexities in the Development of the Caroline Plate Region, Western Equatorial Pacific

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The Ocean Basins and Margins

Abstract

Johnson and Moinar (1972) and Bracey and Andrews (1974) speculated that the region north of New Guinea might consist of a lithospheric plate separate and distinct from the adjacent Pacific, Indo-Australian, and Philippine plates. The boundaries of the Caroline plate (Fig. 1) were first identified by Weissel and Anderson (1978) using marine geophysical and seismological evidence. They concluded that an additional plate (the Caroline plate) currently exists, using arguments based on (1) plate motion models and (2) tectonic characteristics of the Sorol Trough, the Mussau Trench, and the curiously disrupted seafloor between these features (Fig. 2).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3182, Australia

    Kerry A. Hegarty

  2. Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York, 10964, USA

    Jeffrey K. Weissel

Authors
  1. Kerry A. Hegarty
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  2. Jeffrey K. Weissel
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Earth Science and Resources Institute, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA

    Alan E. M. Nairn

  2. DOSECC, Inc., Gainesville, Florida, USA

    Francis G. Stehli

  3. Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Seiya Uyeda

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© 1988 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Hegarty, K.A., Weissel, J.K. (1988). Complexities in the Development of the Caroline Plate Region, Western Equatorial Pacific. In: Nairn, A.E.M., Stehli, F.G., Uyeda, S. (eds) The Ocean Basins and Margins. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-8041-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-8041-6_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4615-8043-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-8041-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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