Inversion of magnetic anomalies and sea-floor spreading in the Cayman Trough

Abstract

For some time, sea-floor spreading has been hypothesized for the Mid-Cayman Rise based on inferences from seismicity, heat flow, topography and plate geometry. Here we present magnetic anomaly inversions from which a reasonable record of sea-floor spreading emerges. We obtain total opening rates of 20 ± 2 mm/yr for 0–2.4 m.y. B.P. and 40 ± 2 mm/yr for 2.4–6.0 m.y. B.P. Data on the west flank extend the half-opening rate of 20 mm/yr back to 8.3 m.y. B.P. Spreading has been very nearly symmetric. These new observations place important constraints on plate tectonic reconstructions by defining the relative motion between the North American and Caribbean plates. They also shed some light on sea-floor spreading processes in which the spreading center is a secondary feature in the sense that it is over an order of magnitude shorter than the adjoining transform faults.