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Volume 2 Number 3
  • E-ISSN: 1365-2117

Abstract

Burial histories of Late Neogene sedimentary basins on the Wairarapa fold and thrust belt of the Hikurangi convergent plate margin (New Zealand) have been deduced from decompacted sedimentary columns and palaeo‐waterdepths. These indicate that at least two major cycles of basement subsidence and uplift have occurred since 15 Ma. The older (15‐10 Ma) cycle affected outer areas of the forearc. Subsidence, at a minimum rate of 0.5‐0.6 mm/yr, was followed by rapid uplift. The subsequent (10 Ma to present) cycle affected a broad area of the inner forearc. Subsidence, at an average rate 0.33 mm/yr, was followed by uplift at an average rate of 0.5‐1.5 mm/yr. Vertical movement is continuing, with uplift of the axial greywacke ranges and development of the Wairarapa Depression.

Palinspastic reconstructions of the inner forearc region indicate that basin development was characterized by a see‐saw oscillation in basin orientation, with the axis of the basin and direction of basin tilt switching back and forth from east to west through time. A large‐scale change in basin orientation took place around 2 Ma when the westernmost part of Wairarapa began to rise on the flanks of the rising Tararua Range, associated with the ramping of the Australian Plate up and over the subducted Pacific Plate. Loading of the forearc is unlikely to have been a significant cause of basement subsidence before this event. Earlier phases of basin development associated with basement subsidence and uplift may be related to a complex interplay of tectonic factors, including the westward migration of the subducted Pacific Plate as it passed beneath southern North Island during Miocene time, episodes of locking and unlocking of parts of the plate interface, and growth of the accretionary prism.

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2007-11-06
2024-04-27

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