Interactions between a transform fault and arc volcanism in the Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea

We present a new interpretation of the geological evolution of the western branch of the Bismarck Sea Seismic Lineation (BSSL) region, offshore the northwestern coast of Papua New Guinea, from mapping and interpretation of bathymetry and backscatter data acquired aboard R/V Kilo Moana in 2004. At present, the Schouten Islands parallel the Papua New Guinea coast, but this distribution results from the left-lateral displacement of some of these volcanic islands by the Bismarck Sea Seismic Lineation. The trend of the islands and seamounts was initially aligned N-S and then displaced by the BSSL. Wei Island lies on a large submarine edifice that may have formed as part of a leaky transform. Subsequent to forming, Wei Island was bisected, and its pieces were displaced 45 km. Using this distance together with the strikeslip rate for the Bismarck Sea Seismic Lineation (predicted from the North Bismarck Plate-South Bismarck Plate pole), the division occurred approximately 385,000 years ago.Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUENational Science FoundationMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovaciónpu

Morphostructure at the junction between the Beata ridge and the Greater Antilles island arc (offshore Hispaniola southern slope)

Oblique convergence between the Caribbean plate's interior and the inactive Greater Antilles island arc has resultedin the collision and impingement of the thickened crust of theBeata ridge into southern Hispaniola Island. Deformation resulting from this convergence changes from a low-angle southward-verging thrust south of easternHispaniola, to collision and uplift in south-central Hispaniola, and to left-lateral transpression along theSouthern peninsula of Haiti in western Hispaniola. Using new swath bathymetry and a dense seismic reflectiongrid, we mapped the morphological, structural and sedimentological Elements of offshore southern Hispaniola.We have identified four morphotectonic provinces: the Dominican sub-basin, the Muertos margin, the Beataridge and the Haiti sub-basin. The lower slope of the Muertos margin is occupied by the active Muertos thrustbelt, which includes several active out-of-sequence thrust faults that, were they to rupture along their entirelength, could generate large-magnitude earthquakes. The interaction of the thrust beltwith the Beata ridge yieldsa huge recess and the imbricate system disappears. The upper slope of the Muertos margin shows hick slopedepositswhere the extensional tectonics and slumping processes predominate. The northern Beata ridge consistsof an asymmetrically uplifted and faulted block of oceanic crust. Our results suggest that the shallower structureand morphology of the northern Beata ridge can be mainly explained by a mechanism of extensional unloadingfrom the Upper Cretaceous onward that is still active residually along the summit of the ridge. The tectonicmodels for the northern Beata ridge involving active reverse strike–slip faults and transpression caused by theoblique convergence between the Beata ridge and the island arc are not supported by the structural interpretation.The eastern Bahoruco slope an old normal fault that acts as a passive tear fault accommodating the sharpalong-strike transition from low-angle thrusting to collision and uplifting.Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEGeological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology ProgramDirección General de Minería of the Dominican Republicpu

Reasons for Course Selection and Academic Satisfaction among Master's Degree Students

This study investigated the relationships between the motivations of master's students and satisfaction with the programme. Participants included 978 students from two Spanish universities. The results showed that the characteristics of the master's programme explained the differences in the reasons for choice and student satisfaction. We found a positive relationship between academic satisfaction and the reasons for self-realization and personal growth. The results allow us to reconsider the process of student guidance and counselling

Batimetría multihaz del noreste de Gran Canaria (Islas Canarias)

The ZEE99 oceanographic cruise was carrided out aboard B.I.O. Hespérides by the Instituto Español de Oceanografía and the Instituto Hidrográfico de la Marina, and was located in Canary Islands. In order to study the bathymetry o f the Gran Canaria northeast ocean floor; a Simrad EMI 2 multi beam echosounder was used. These data allow us to produce a detailed bathymetric map and make it possible to infer the caracteristics and geologic processes that led to a major development in the investigation o f submarine geomorphology around the Canary Islands

Crustal structure and continent‐ocean boundary along the Galicia continental margin (NW Iberia): insights from combined gravity and seismic interpretation

The magma‐poor rifted continental margin of Galicia has an extremely complex structure. Its formation involved several rifting episodes that occurred ultimately during the early Cretaceous near a ridge triple junction, which produced a change in the orientation of the main structures in its transition to the north Iberia margin. In addition, there is a superimposed partial tectonic inversion along its northwest and northern border which developed from the Late Cretaceous to at least Oligocene times. The present study integrates a large volume of new geophysical information (mainly marine gravity data and 2D seismic reflection profiles) to provide insights on the formation of this rift system and on the development of its later inversion. The combined interpretation and modeling of this data enable the presentation of a new crustal and structural domains map for the whole Galicia margin. This includes the rift domains related to the extreme thinning of the crust and the lithospheric mantle (stretched, necking, and hyperextension and mantle exhumation (HME) domains), as well as a domain of intense compressional deformation. New constraints arise on the origin, the deep structure, and the characterization of the along‐ and across‐strike variation of the continent‐ocean transition of the margin, where a progressive change from hyperextension to partial inversion is observed. The development of both rifting and later partial tectonic inversion is influenced by the existence of former first‐order tectonic features. Most of the tectonic inversion is focused on the HME domain, which in some areas of the northwestern margin is completely overprinted by compressional deformation

Bouguer anomalies of the NW Iberian continental margin and the adjacent abyssal plains

The NW Iberian continental margin has a complex structure, resulting from the succession of several rifting episodes close to a ridge triple junction, and a superimposed partial tectonic inversion stage. The wide-ranging physiography matches the diverse tectonic deformation domains related to its evolution. Each deformation domain has a distinctive gravity signal, so the detailed Bouguer anomaly map presented here is a good first approach to the regional study of the whole margin. Moreover, as the presented chart is a complete Bouguer anomaly map (including terrain corrections), its analysis and interpretation can be done in terms of density, geometry and depth variations below the seafloor. This map is mainly based on the dataset obtained during seven one-month surveys carried out in the frame of the Spanish Economic Exclusive Zone project, and also includes two 2 + 3/4D density models illustrating the deep structure of the margin

Lithospheric domain and deformation style mapping in the Galicia continental margin (northwestern Iberian margin)

El margen continental de Galicia presenta una estructura muy compleja, debido a dos efectos principales. Por un lado, se trata de un margen de rift pobre en magma, generado en las proximidades del punto triple R-R-R que dio lugar a la apertura simultánea del Océano Atlántico y el golfo de Vizcaya durante el Cretácico. Por otra parte, el régimen de esfuerzos compresivo Cenozoico generó la inversión parcial del margen continental hacia el norte y el noroeste, aportando una mayor complejidad estructural. En este trabajo hemos realizado un análisis detallado de la nueva información gravimétrica y batimétrica obtenida durante las campañas del Proyecto ZEE, así como de nuevos perfiles de sísmica de reflexión multicanal procedentes del Proyecto ERGAP. Presentamos aquí parte de los resultados de este análisis conjunto de toda la información geofísica y geológica disponible, consistentes en una cartografía continua de los diferentes dominios litosféricos y del tipo de deformación que los afectan, desde el margen oeste de la Península Ibérica hasta el margen norte.The continental margin of Galicia presents a very complex structure, due to two main effects. On the one hand, it's a magma-poor rift margin, generated in the vicinity of the triple R-R-R junction, which resulted in the simultaneous opening of the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Biscay during the Cretaceous. On the other hand, the Cenozoic compressive stress regime led to the partial inversion of the continental margin to the north and northwest, providing a greater structural complexity. In this work we have carried out a detailed analysis of new gravity and bathymety data acquired during the ZEE Project cruises, as well as new 2D multichannel seismic reflection profiles from the ERGAP Project. We present here some the results of this joint analysis of all the geophysical and geological information available, consisting of a continuous mapping of the different lithospheric domains and of the style of deformation which affect them, from the western margin of the Iberian Peninsula to the northern one.Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEpu

Bouguer anomalies of the NW Iberian continental margin and the adjacent abyssal plains

The NW Iberian continental margin has a complex structure, resulting from the succession of several rifting episodes close to a ridge triple junction, and a superimposed partial tectonic inversion stage. The wide-ranging physiography matches the diverse tectonic deformation domains related to its evolution. Each deformation domain has a distinctive gravity signal, so the detailed Bouguer anomaly map presented here is a good first approach to the regional study of the whole margin. Moreover, as the presented chart is a complete Bouguer anomaly map (including terrain corrections), its analysis and interpretation can be done in terms of density, geometry and depth variations below the seafloor. This map is mainly based on the dataset obtained during seven one-month surveys carried out in the frame of the Spanish Economic Exclusive Zone project, and also includes two 2 + 3/4D density models illustrating the deep structure of the margin