Series of rift valleys between East and West Antarctica
Map of Antarctica showing West Antarctic Rift System in rose shading
The West Antarctic Rift System is a series of rift valleys between East and West Antarctica.[1] It encompasses the Ross Embayment, the Ross Sea, the area under the Ross Ice Shelf and a part of Marie Byrd Land in West Antarctica,[2] reaching to the base of the Antarctic Peninsula.[1] It has an estimated length of 3,000 km (1,900 mi) and a width of approximately 700 km (430 mi).[1] Its evolution is due to lithospheric thinning of an area of Antarctica that resulted in the demarcation of East and West Antarctica. The scale and evolution of the rift system has been compared to that of the Basin and Range Province of the Western United States.[1][3]
^ abcdBehrendt, J.C.; LeMasurier, W.E.; Cooper, A.K.; Tessensohn, F.; Tréhu, A.; Damaske, D. (1991). "Geophysical studies of the West Antarctic Rift System". Tectonics. 10 (6): 1257–1273. Bibcode:1991Tecto..10.1257B. doi:10.1029/91TC00868.
^Luyendyk, Bruce P.; Wilson, Douglas S.; Siddoway, Christine S. (1 October 2003). "Eastern margin of the Ross Sea Rift in western Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica: Crustal structure and tectonic development". Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 4 (10): 1090. Bibcode:2003GGG.....4.1090L. doi:10.1029/2002GC000462. ISSN 1525-2027.
^Tessensohn, F., and G. Wörner. 1991. "The Ross Sea rift system, Antarctica: structure, evolution and analogues." In Geological Evolution of Antarctica, edited by M.R.A. Thomson, J.A. Crame and J.W. Thomson, 273–277. Cambridge University Press.
and 29 Related for: West Antarctic Rift System information
are buried underneath the WestAntarctic Ice Sheet are probably even larger. It is part of the WestAntarcticRiftSystem along with eighteen other known...
cause rift zones and thermal expansion of the mountain belt. Convergence of crustal material occurs when the rift zone pushes the WestAntarctic plate...
The East African Rift (EAR) or East African RiftSystem (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the...
knowledge about WestAntarctic Volcanoes due to the presence of the WestAntarctic Ice Sheet, which heavily covers the WestAntarcticRiftSystem—a likely hub...
for as long as they are present. The WestAntarcticRiftSystem (WARS) is one of the major active continental rifts on Earth. It is believed to have a major...
landscape evolution of the Antarctic plate since the breakup of Gondwana, with an emphasis on the WestAntarcticRiftSystem and the Transantarctic Mountains"...
East African Rift and the Baikal Rift Zone, which are currently active, as well as a third which may be, the WestAntarcticRiftSystem. In these instances...
Columbia, Yukon and Alaska The WestAntarcticRiftSystem in Antarctica The Midcontinent RiftSystem, a late Precambrian rift in central North America The...
Mountains WestAntarcticRiftSystem This article incorporates public domain material from "West Antarctica". Geographic Names Information System. United...
Ellsworth Mountains. The presence of the WestAntarcticRiftSystem has resulted in volcanism along the border between West and East Antarctica, as well as the...
eastern part of the continent. The West Antarctic RiftSystem, a major active rift valley, lies between West and East Antarctica. Its major phase of rapid...
Galapagos Rise Explorer Ridge Juan de Fuca Ridge Pacific-Antarctic Ridge WestAntarcticRiftSystem Southeast Indian Ridge Convergent boundary Transform boundary...
and West Antarctica, known as the WestAntarcticRiftSystem and similar in structure to the East Africa RiftSystem. Centrally located in the Adare Basin...
of Antarctic ice shelves Nimrod Expedition Retreat of glaciers since 1850 Ross Embayment Ross Gyre Steershead Crevasses WestAntarcticRiftSystem Rignot...
hydrovolcanic formations. Volcanic activity here is linked to the WestAntarcticRiftsystem, which is responsible for the formation of a number of volcanoes...
Ischigualasto Valley of the Moon (Argentina) Paraíba Valley (Brazil) WestAntarcticRiftSystem Numerous elongate depressions have been identified on the surface...
interior elevations on its ice sheet of over 4 kilometers. The WestAntarcticRiftSystem (WARS) that evolved over the last hundred million years, includes...
islands around the Antarctic Peninsula. This volcanism is related to extensional tectonics in Bransfield Rift to the west and Larsen Rift to the east. The...
volcanic in origin. The range was uplifted during the opening of the WestAntarcticRiftSystem to the east, beginning about 65 million years ago in the early...
the world, having formed as a result of continental rifting along the WestAntarcticRiftSystem. The McMurdo Volcanic Group is part of the Western Ross...
Marie Byrd Land on the mainland to the east, a system of rifts known as the WestAntarcticRiftSystem. Support for a plume origin includes petrological...
of the Ross Sea: Implications for the Tectonic History of the WestAntarcticRiftSystem. 2007 (1047sir052). doi:10.3133/of2007-1047.srp052. ISSN 0196-1497...
it is considered an imprecise merging of separate though related rift and fault systems. This valley extends northward for 5,950 km through the eastern...
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