Semiquantitative modeling of strain and kinematics along the Caribbean/North America strike‐slip plate boundary zone

Abstract

Recent structural and geophysical studies conducted along the northern Caribbean plate boundary, at sea and on land, have led to a precise description of the geometry and the tectonic regimes along this major transcurrent zone which separates the Caribbean and North American plates. In order to interpret its tectonic features in terms of plate motion, we use a simple numerical model of strike‐slip faulting to test previously proposed kinematic models and to compute new motion parameters. We show that none of the previously proposed models correctly accounts for the observed deformation along the whole plate boundary. On the basis of the deformation pattern obtained from geological data we compute a motion parameters set that integrate rigid plate rotation and “a plate boundary zone deformation component.” Our results show that the deformation along the northern Caribbean plate boundary zone is controled by regional kinematics (i.e., the Caribbean/North America relative motion) rather than by local effects (e.g., small block rotation, intraplate deformation).