Kinematic reconstruction of the Caribbean region since the Early Jurassic

Abstract

The Caribbean oceanic crust was formed west of the North and South American continents, probably from Late Jurassic through Early Cretaceous time. Its subsequent evolution has resulted from a complex tectonic history governed by the interplay of the North American, South American and (Paleo-)Pacific plates. During its entire tectonic evolution, the Caribbean plate was largely surrounded by subduction and transform boundaries, and the oceanic crust has been overlain by the Caribbean Large Igneous Province (CLIP) since ~90Ma. The consequent absence of passive margins and measurable marine magnetic anomalies hampers a quantitative integration into the global circuit of plate motions. Here, we present an updated, quantitatively described kinematic reconstruction of the Caribbean region back to 200Ma, integrated into the global plate circuit, and implemented with GPlates free software. Our reconstruction includes description of the tectonic units in terms of Euler poles and finite rotation angles. Our analysis of Caribbean tectonic evolution incorporates an extensive literature review. To constrain the Caribbean plate motion between the American continents, we use a novel approach that takes structural geological observations rather than marine magnetic anomalies as prime input, and uses regionally extensive metamorphic and magmatic phenomena such as the Great Arc of the Caribbean, the CLIP and the Caribbean high-pressure belt as correlation markers. The resulting model restores the Caribbean plate back along the Cayman Trough and major strike-slip faults in Guatemala, offshore Nicaragua, offshore Belize and along the Northern Andes towards its position of origin, west of the North and South American continents in Early Cretaceous time. We provide the paleomagnetic reference frame for the Caribbean region by rotating the Global Apparent Polar Wander Path into coordinates of the Caribbean plate interior, Cuba, and the Chortis Block. We conclude that formation of the Caribbean plate, west of the North and South Americas, as a result of Panthalassa/Pacific spreading leads to a much simpler plate kinematic scenario than Proto-Caribbean/Atlantic spreading. Placing our reconstruction in the most recent mantle reference frames shows that the CLIP originated 2000–3000km east of the modern Galápagos hotspot, and may not have been derived from the corresponding mantle plume. Finally, our reconstruction suggests that most if not all modern subduction zones surrounding the Caribbean plate initiated at transform faults, two of these (along the southern Mexican and NW South American margins) evolved diachronously as a result of migrating trench–trench–transform triple junctions.