Evolution of Macquarie Ridge Complex seamounts: Implications for volcanic and tectonic processes at the Australia–Pacific plate boundary south of New Zealand

Abstract

The Macquarie Ridge Complex (MRC) coincides with the Australia–Pacific plate boundary south of New Zealand and is characterised by a rugged bathymetry that comprises numerous seamounts along its length. Tectonic plate reconstructions show that the Australia–Pacific plate boundary evolved from a spreading centre to a transpressional boundary from ca. 40 to 6Ma. However, limited sampling and high-resolution mapping of the region have meant that the composition and morphology of the MRC remain relatively unknown. Here we present results from multibeam mapping, photographic investigation and petrologic and geochemical analyses from 10 seamounts along the MRC. Dredge samples collected from the seamounts are alkaline to sub-alkaline basalts, containing 45.1–50.8wt.% SiO2, 3.5–12.0wt.% MgO and 1.9–4.9wt.% total alkalis. All samples are enriched mid-ocean ridge basalts that have K/Ti>0.15, which originated as low degree partial melts during the late stages of mid-ocean ridge volcanism. This oceanic crust has been sheared and accreted along the plate boundary since ca. 6Ma by cumulative transpressional relative plate motion, such that lavas from distinct magma chambers have been juxtaposed at individual seamounts along the ridge. MRC seamounts have formed as discrete elevations as a result of dip-slip and strike-slip faulting of the ridge axis. Three guyot-type seamounts have flat-top summit plateaux that were presumably formed by wave erosion via relative sea-level lowering due to uplift of the ridge. These seamounts have since subsided due to extension associated with the step-over fault geometry of the transform plate boundary along the McDougall and Macquarie ridge segments. While the seamounts are of volcanic origin, they are manifestations of tectonic and geomorphic processes. Seamounts distal from the ridge axis, however, are not subjected to plate boundary deformation and instead have morphologies formed through volcanic processes.