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The Segmented Nature of Some Continental Margins

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The Geology of Continental Margins

Abstract

There is ample geological and geophysical evidence to show that certain continental margins and island arcs (converging plate margins) are broken by transverse features into segments a few hundred kilometers long. The segmentation varies between the different margins. Geological and geophysical data that define segments include lines of active volcanoes; clusters of volcanoes and cinder cones; changes in strike and offsets of trench axes; changes in strike and offsets of longitudinal geologic structures, such as normal faults or grabens parallel to the volcanic lines; transverse faults; the lateral margins of aftershock areas of great earthquakes; changes in strike and offsets of the deep seismic zone; focal mechanisms; P-wave travel-time anomalies; and concentrations of small and moderate-sized shallow earthquakes.

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Carr, M.J., Stoiber, R.E., Drake, C.L. (1974). The Segmented Nature of Some Continental Margins. In: Burk, C.A., Drake, C.L. (eds) The Geology of Continental Margins. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-01141-6_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-01141-6_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-01143-0

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