West Antarctic Rift System
E58285
The West Antarctic Rift System is a major tectonic rift zone underlying much of West Antarctica, characterized by crustal extension, volcanism, and significant influence on the region’s topography and ice sheet dynamics.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
geological structure
→
intraplate rift → tectonic rift system → |
| affects |
basal melting of West Antarctic Ice Sheet
→
ice stream flow patterns → |
| associatedWith |
Amundsen Sea Embayment
→
Cenozoic alkaline volcanism → Marie Byrd Land → Ross Embayment → Ross Sea → Transantarctic Mountains uplift → intraplate volcanism → tectonic subsidence → |
| characterizedBy |
crustal extension
→
normal faulting → thin continental crust → volcanism → |
| contains |
Executive Committee Range
→
Marie Byrd Land volcanic province → Mount Erebus volcanic system vicinity → |
| contrastsWith |
East Antarctic craton
→
|
| discoveredBy |
geophysical investigations in the 20th century
→
|
| extendsBeneath |
West Antarctic Ice Sheet
→
|
| forms |
major part of West Antarctic tectonic province
→
|
| geologicalAge |
Mesozoic-Cenozoic
→
|
| hasCrustalThickness |
significantly thinned relative to East Antarctica
→
|
| hasTectonicSetting |
extensional tectonics
→
|
| heatFlow |
elevated relative to East Antarctica
→
|
| influences |
West Antarctic Ice Sheet dynamics
→
West Antarctic topography → ice sheet basal conditions → |
| length |
over 3000 kilometers (approximate)
→
|
| locatedIn |
West Antarctica
→
|
| locatedOnContinent |
Antarctica
→
|
| orientation |
roughly east–west to northwest–southeast in segments
→
|
| partOf |
West Antarctic plate region
→
|
| relatedTo |
breakup of Gondwana
→
opening of the Ross Sea → separation of New Zealand from Antarctica → |
| relevantTo |
Antarctic ice sheet stability studies
→
geodynamic modeling of Antarctica → sea-level rise projections → |
| riftingActiveDuring |
Cenozoic era
→
|
| riftingInitiated |
Mesozoic era
→
|
| studiedBy |
aeromagnetic surveys
→
gravity surveys → radar sounding beneath ice → seismic tomography → |
Referenced by (3)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Antarctic Plate
→
|
hasFeature |
|
West Antarctica
→
|
hasGeologicalFeature |
|
West Antarctica
→
|
underlainBy |