2006 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
Regional Structures and Geodynamic Evolution of North Greenwich (Fort Williams Point) and Dee Islands, South Shetland Islands
Authors: Jean Francois Dumont, Essy Santana, Francisco Hervé, Carlos Zapata
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Morphological and structural studies of the Fort Williams Point area (Greenwich and Dee Islands) reveal two regional trends, NE-SW and NW-SE. Detailed field observations show that the NWSE structural direction is associated with dykes and fractures resulting from a NW-SE shortening. This shortening is interpreted as related to active basaltic volcanism during the Mesozoic “Andean” history of the area. The NE-SW structural trend is associated with NE-SW trending sinistral faults post-dating the Cretaceous volcanic units. Kinematic analysis shows a roughly N-S trending shortening. This event is interpreted as related to the opening of the Bransfield Basin located to the south-east.