Cenozoic strike-slip faulting from the eastern margin of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin to the western margin of the Ross Sea Rift: an aeromagnetic connection

Abstract

Abstract Tectonic modelling of regional aeromagnetic anomaly patterns suggests Cenozoic right-lateral strike-slip faulting along an inherited fault system of the Transantarctic Mountains and adjacent hinterland. We name it here the Prince Albert Fault System. The Reeves Fault and David Fault are Cenozoic right-lateral strike-slip faults and form part of the NW-SE-striking segment of this complex fault system, extending to the eastern margin of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin. Our aeromagnetic interpretation suggests therefore that the Wilkes Subglacial Basin may be connected to the Cenozoic strike-slip kinematic framework of the Transantarctic Mountains and western Ross Sea Rift. The southernmost segment of the Prince Albert Fault System parallels the N-S-striking McMurdo Sound Fault Zone and, together with it, defines a transtensional western Ross Sea Rift margin. High-resolution aeromagnetic images define the Cape Roberts pull-apart basin and suggest that Cenozoic magmatism may have focused along the transtensional western Ross Sea Rift margin itself.