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Timing and causes of the mid-Cretaceous global plate reorganization event
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-20, 10:18 authored by Olierook, HKH, Jourdan, F, Joanne WhittakerJoanne Whittaker, Merle, RE, Jiang, Q, Pourteau, A, Doucet, LSGlobal plate reorganization events (GPREs) can have profound impact on plate velocities, climate and the biotic cycle but the timing and triggers for GPREs remain debated. The timing and causes of the mid-Cretaceous GPRE, one of only two GPREs since the breakup of Pangea, remains poorly constrained because it occurred during the Cretaceous Normal Superchron. Here, we provide a new plagioclase 40Ar/39Ar age of Ma (2σ) at DSDP site 256 along the world's clearest curved fracture zones in the Wharton Basin, off NW Australia. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we compute that the mid-Cretaceous GPRE commenced at Ma (95% confidence). The mid-Cretaceous GPRE was associated with a significant plate deceleration (minimum ∼26%), similar to the Eocene GPRE, implying that this process is fundamental to plate reconfigurations. We propose that the mid-Cretaceous GPRE was caused by slab-breakoff and cessation of the south-dipping subduction zone in the Mesotethys Ocean at ca. 111 Ma. Ultimately, we posit that subduction zone initiations and cessations are the primary triggers for both post-Pangean GPREs and that top-down processes may be the fundamental drivers for GPREs.
History
Publication title
Earth and Planetary Science LettersVolume
534Article number
116071Number
116071Pagination
1-13ISSN
0012-821XDepartment/School
Institute for Marine and Antarctic StudiesPublisher
Elsevier Science BvPlace of publication
Po Box 211, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1000 AeRights statement
©2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Repository Status
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