14
INTBRNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM O N GEODYNAMICS IN SOUTH-WEST PACIPIC NOUMEA (NEW CALEDONIA) 27 AUGUST.2 SEPTRMBER 1976 BDITIONS TECHNIP, PAUS 1977, pp. 145-154 NEW CALEDONIA BASIN-FAIRWAY RIDGE : STRUCTURAL AND SEDIMENTARY STUDY 2 2 SEP, “77 C. RAVENNE(’), C.E. de BROlNt2), J. DUPONT(3) A. LAPOUILLE‘3’ and J. LAUNAYl3’ o. w. s. T. o. b9. Abstract Austradec I and II marine seismic surveys carried out in 1972 and 1973 by the IFP-CEPM-ORSTOM group i n the southwes tem Pa- cifi,c contribüted to the exploration of the structural elements located between Lord Howe Rise and Norfolk Ridge, investigated the sedi- mentary f i l l s i n accordance with data from DSDP boreholes, and pointed out the impor- tance of volcanic alignments, The leading structural element discovered by these surveys was the Fairway Ridge begin- ning at Fairway Reef in the North, Two of us (C.E. de Broin and C. Ravenne) consider that this ridge prolongs into West Norfolk Ridge towards the South, The discovery of this ridge thus leads us to divcde the New Caledonia Basin into an eas- tem New Caledonia Basin sensu stricto and a wes tem Fairway Basin. A study of seismic facies and data from DSDP boreholes enables us to suggest that the fill in the New Caledonian Basin sensu stric- to is mainly of turbidite origin and that in the Fairway Basin is mainly pelagic except in its southem part. The proportion of elements derived from volcanism is considerable in both basins. Lastly, we clearly delimit two volcanic alignments, i.e. one located in the eastem part of Lord Howe Rise, and the other in the westem part of Norfolk Ridge. In this paper we first describe the struc- tural elements, and then we show how magnetic data confirm our hypotheses , before examining the sedimentary series. GEOGRAPH I C SI TUATI ON The area investigated is located i n the South West Pacific (fig, 1). It is framed by Lord Howe Rise in the West and Norfolk Ridge in the East. It is bounded in the North at the latitude of New Caledonia and i n the South by the northermost tip of West Norfolk Ridge. GEOTECTONIC SITUATION This area is located in a mixed marginal zone context bounded by a continental area, Australia in the West and oceanic zones of re- cent origin in the East, i.e. the Tasman Sea, the South Fiji Basin and the North Loyalty P1 ateau. The crust varies in thickness there, ran- ging from a semicontinental thickness of 20 to 30 km under Lord Howe Rise and Norfolk Rid- ge t o a semioceanic thickness of about 15 km under the basin (Shor et al. , 1971). (1) Institut Français du Pétrole, 1 et 4 avenue de Bois-Préau, 92502 Rueil-Malmaison, France (2) Société Nationale Elf Aquitaine (Production), 26 avenue des Lilas, 64001 Pau, France (3) Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique Outre-Mer, B.P. AS, Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia 145

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Page 1: New Caledonia basin-Fairway ridge : structural and ...horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_5/... · NEW CALEDONIA BASIN-FAIRWAY RIDGE : STRUCTURAL AND

INTBRNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON GEODYNAMICS IN SOUTH-WEST PACIPIC

NOUMEA (NEW CALEDONIA) 27 AUGUST.2 SEPTRMBER 1976 BDITIONS TECHNIP, PAUS 1977, pp. 145-154

NEW CALEDONIA BASIN-FAIRWAY RIDGE : STRUCTURAL AND SEDIMENTARY STUDY

2 2 SEP, “77 C. RAVENNE(’), C.E. de BROlNt2), J. DUPONT(3) A. LAPOUILLE‘3’ and J. LAUNAYl3’ o. w. s. T. o. b9.

Abstract Austradec I and II marine seismic surveys ca r r i ed out i n 1972 and 1973 by the IFP-CEPM-ORSTOM group i n the southwes tem Pa- c i f i , c cont r ibü ted t o the explora t ion of the s t r u c t u r a l elements loca ted between Lord Howe R i s e and Norfolk Ridge, i nves t iga t ed the sedi- mentary f i l l s i n accordance with da t a from DSDP boreholes , and poin ted out the impor- tance of volcanic alignments,

The leading s t r u c t u r a l element discovered by these surveys was the Fairway Ridge begin- ning at Fairway Reef i n the North, Two of us (C.E. de Broin and C. Ravenne) consider t h a t t h i s r idge prolongs i n t o West Norfolk Ridge towards the South,

The discovery of t h i s r idge thus leads us t o divcde the New Caledonia Basin i n t o an eas- tem New Caledonia Basin sensu s t r i c t o and a w e s tem Fairway Basin.

A s tudy of seismic f ac i e s and da ta from DSDP boreholes enables us t o suggest t h a t t he f i l l i n t he New Caledonian Basin sensu s t r ic- t o i s mainly of t u r b i d i t e o r i g i n and t h a t i n the Fairway Basin i s mainly pe l ag ic except i n i t s southem pa r t . The proport ion of elements derived from volcanism i s considerable i n both basins .

Las t ly , we c l ea r ly de l imi t two volcanic alignments, i .e. one loca ted i n the e a s t e m p a r t of Lord Howe Rise, and the o the r i n the westem p a r t of Norfolk Ridge.

I n t h i s paper we f i r s t descr ibe the s t ruc- t u r a l elements, and then w e show how magnetic da t a confirm our hypotheses , before examining the sedimentary series.

GEOGRAPH I C SI TUATI ON

The area inves t iga t ed i s loca ted i n the South West P a c i f i c ( f i g , 1). It i s framed by Lord Howe R i s e i n the West and Norfolk Ridge i n the East. It i s bounded i n the North at the l a t i t u d e of New Caledonia and i n the South by the northermost t i p of West Norfolk Ridge.

GEOTECTONIC SITUATION

This area i s loca ted i n a mixed marginal zone context bounded by a cont inenta l area, Aus t r a l i a i n the West and oceanic zones of re- cent o r i g i n i n the Eas t , i.e. t he Tasman Sea, the South F i j i Basin and the North Loyalty P1 ateau.

The c r u s t va r i e s i n thickness t h e r e , ran- ging from a semicont inental thickness of 20 t o 30 km under Lord Howe R i s e and Norfolk Rid- ge t o a semioceanic thickness of about 15 km under the bas in (Shor e t a l . , 1971) .

(1) Institut Français du Pétrole, 1 et 4 avenue de Bois-Préau, 92502 Rueil-Malmaison, France

( 2 ) Société Nationale Elf Aquitaine (Production), 26 avenue des Lilas, 64001 Pau, France

( 3 ) Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique Outre-Mer, B.P. AS, Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia

145

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NEW CALEDONIA BASIN-FAIRWAY RIDGE : STRUCTURAI, AND SEDIMENTARY STUDY

PREVIOUS WORK

It cons is ted mainly i n bathymetry (maps by Scripps I n s t i t u t i o n of Oceanography and New Zealand Oceanogr. I n s t . ) and i n seismic re- f r a c t i o n (Shor e t a l , , 1971). On the o the r hand the DSDP boreholes a re a valuable con- t r i b u t i o n t o the understanding of the l i t ho lo - gy and of marine unconformities (R.E. Burns, J .E . Andrews e t a l . , 1973). Besides the seis- mic r e f l e c t i o n p r o f i l e s by Mobil O i l Co publ i - shed by F.P. Bentz (1974) , no o the r seismic r e f l e c t i o n survey has been done i n t h i s area.

DATA

For t h i s paper , we have made use of B- LZ'OM se ismic l i n e s recorded by ORSTOM and es- pec ia l ly of Austradec mul t i t r ace seismic-re- f l e c t i o n p r o f i l e s recorded by t h a t I f l - c~p) ! - ORSTOM.

An i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o t the magnetic anoma- l i es was attempted, a l s o using da ta from the Austradec and Georstom p r o f i l e s .

-

STRUCTURAL FEATURES

1. Fairway Ridge.

This i s a new fea tu re revealed by our sur- veys on the bas i s of seismic r e f l e c t i o n and magnetism da ta , We began t o suspect i t s exis- tence i n 1973 (Dubois e t a l . , 1974).

Fairways Ridge i s a major s t r u c t u r a l fea- t u r e i n the South West P a c i f i c as a re Lord Howe R i s e and Norfolk Ridge ( f i g . 2 and 3) . It d i v i d e s the New Caledonia Basin i n t o two sub-basins and p lays an important r o l e as a b a r r i e r i n the d i s t r i b u t i o n of sediments.

It appea r s as a basement r idge (seismic f ac i e s , magnetic s igna tu re , geologic framework) about 70 km wide ( f i g . 4 , 5 a, b , c) and near- l y 1,500 km long.

The magnetic s igna ture of t h i s r idge i s . c h a r a c t e r i s t i c . This aspect w i l l be discussed la te r i n t h i s paper.

The r idge runs almost p a r a l l e l t o Norfolk Ridge and follows the same d i r e c t i o n a l chan- ges.

146

The c e n t r a l p a r t of the r idge , which i s the longes t p a r t (about 700 k m ) , t rends t o the North, It abrupt ly changes i t s d i r e c t i o n at the l e v e l of Fairway reef West of New Ca- ledonia . I n the North i t i s loca l i zed under- neath the f lank of L a n d s d m Bank which bounds Lord Howe R i s e . Fairway Ridge ends abrupt ly at 19" S l a t i t u d e , i n a roughly East-West t rending f r a c t u r e zone.

To the South, West Norfolk Ridge extends i n the exac t prolongat ion of Fairway Ridge. Two of us (C. Ravenne and C.E. de Broin) con- s i d e r t h a t West Norfolk Ridge i s the Southern p a r t of Fairway Ridge. The o t h e r t h ree authors divide i t i n t o two s t r u c t u r a l élements of d i f - f e ren t o r i gin.

The ax is of Fairway Ridge divides i n t o two sub-para l le l alignments of basement i n West Norfolk Ridge where they d e l i m i t a narrow ba- s i n . West Norfolk Ridge curves South East i n i t s southern t i p ( f i g . 2 ) .

Fairway Ridge i s shallow at both ends and progress ive ly becomes deeper and bur ied t o 3,000 m i n i t s p iddle p a r t . Under a t h i n l aye r of sediments, i t s substratum has a characte- t i s t i c seismic f ac i e s ( f i g . 5 a , b y c) with a s t rong r e f l e c t o r overlying a b l i n d zone. I n t h i s i t d i f f e r s from Lord Howe Rise and Nor- f o l k Ridge where the substratum revea ls orga- n i zed r e f l ec t ions . The presence of these re- f l e c t i o n s and the thickness of the underlying c r u s t from r e f r a c t i o n da ta (Shor, 1971) ap- pears t o prove t h a t both these r idges a re of the semicont inental type. Despite the absence of seismic r e f r a c t i o n on Fairway Ridge, magne- t i c anomalies and the absence of any organized r e f l e c t i o n suggest t h a t the substratum i s mainly of vo lcanic o r i g i n ( c f . the s tudy of magnetic anomalies descr ibed hereunder).

The sedimentary cover on t h i s r idge i s very t h i n a t e i t h e r end, up t o two t o th ree hundred meters, It gradual ly becomes th i cke r i n the middle p a r t where the r idge i s bu r i ed under the sedimentary series of the New Cale- donia Basin. _ _ _ __

It i s obvious t h a t the o r i g i n of t h i s r idge l i es wi th in the geotec tonic evolu t ion of the South West P a c i f i c , bu t it i s even mo- re d i f f i c u l t t o say how it w a s c rea ted , Per - haps i t w a s a f r o n t a l bulge of oceanic c r u s t i n f r o n t of a subduction zone loca ted t o the East as suggested by Dubois e t a l . , (1974). However, perhaps i t i s a former volcanic alignment l i k e the Lord Howe Guyots o r poss ib ly a former volcanic a r c corresponding t o one of the subduction s tages between the Aus t ra l ian and P a c i f i c p l a t e s ,

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.NEW CAMDONIA BASIN-FAIRWAY RIDGE : STRUCTURAL AND SEDIMENTARY STUDY

2. Fairway Basin ( f i g . 2 , 3 , 4, G a , b y c ) .

We cal l Fairway Basin t h a t p a r t of New Ca- l edonia Basin "sensu l a to" which i s loca ted between Lord Howe R i s e and Fairway Ridge. We keep the name South New Caledonia Basin f o r the southem p a r t of t h i s bas in between West Norfolk Ridge and Lord Howe R i s e .

I t s s i z e and t rend a re i d e n t i c a l t o those of the r idges surrounding i t because it occu- p i e s the e n t i r e depression between these r id- ges.

According t o our p r o f i l e s , i t appears t o end i n the North at Landsdown Bank.

I n i t s c e n t r a l p a r t , West of Norfolk Is- land, the bas in l i es under 3,200 m of water. This depth decreases gradual ly towards i t s ends, although l eve l ing o f f at around 3,000 m i n f r o n t of West Norfolk Ridge. The deepening of Fairway Ridge i n i t s middle p a r t elimina- tes i t s ro l e as a b a r r i e r between Fairway and New Caledonia Basins, thus changing the d i s - t r i b u t i o n of the sediments.

The basement of t h i s bas in i s c l e a r l y de- l imi ted i n some p laces by a powerful re f lec- t o r revea l ing considerable d i f f r a c t i o n s ( f i g . 6 b) . In o the r p laces , the substratum i s poor- l y defined because i t i s masked by d i f f r a c t i n g r e f l e c t o r s (volcanic series ?) o r by th i ck se- r ies.

The sedimentary f i l l ( f i g . 2 ) i s general- l y about 2,000 m thick. Two much th i cke r areas w e r e found. One i n the n o r t h e m p a r t of the bas in r i g h t of f the southern t i p of New Cale- donia i s probably l inked t o the degradation of the r e l i e f s of Landsdown and Fairway Banks as w e l l as t o the Volcanic outflows underl ining the contact between Lord Howe R i s e and Norfolk Ridge, the o the r loca ted t o the South of West Norfolk Ridge wi th a thickness of about 3,000 I% of sediments i s probably l inked t o the de- gradat ion of West Norfolk Ridge and the proxi- mity of New Zealand.

A rise of the basement w e s t of the North- em t i p of West Norfolk Ridge forms a small th reshold t h a t divides the bas in i n i t s leng- thwise d i re c t ion,

A t the contac t between Fairway Basin and Lord Howe Rise, we found a volcanic alignment on the e a s t e m f lank of Lord Howe R i s e (high ax is i n f i g . 2 ) . Some evidence of t h i s volca- nism has been presented by F. Bentz (1974). This alignment occurs i n the shape of a s t r i n g

of seamounts bu r i ed wi th in a sedimentary se- ries. The upper p a r t of t h i s s t r i n g roughly corresponds t o the Oligocene unconformity. So- me of these volcanoes were l a t e r r eac t iva t ed by subsequent t e c t o n i c a c t i v i t y ,

3. Piew Caledonia bas in Sensu S t r i c t o ( f i g . 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 a, b y c) .

What we ca l l New Caledonia Basin sensu s t r i c t o i s the bas in between Fairway Ridge and Norfolk Ridge. This bas in i s much smaller i n s i z e (about 1,000 km long) than the o the r

a s t r u c t u r e s because Wanganella Bank between West Norfolk Ridge and Norfolk Ridge ( f i g . 3) c loses i t of f i n i t s southem p a r t . To the North i t i s closed of f a t the f r a c t u r e zone bounding Fairway Ridge. The northern end of the. New Caledonia Basin, i .e. the p a r t loca- t ed o f f New Caledonia, has previously been descr ibed (Dubois e t a l . , 1970). W e should j u s t no te the presence of a small bas in ( f i g , 7 c) t o the South of New Caledonia, between New Caledonia Basin sensu s t r i c t o and Norfolk R$dge, as was revealed by Dupont e t a l , , (1975).

New Caledonia Basin S.S. has an even f l a t bottom a t a depth of about 3,600 m.

Under a sedimentary blanket 2,000 t o 3,000 m t h i c k , a basement can be seen t h a t i s high- l i g h t e d on the seismic p r o f i l e s by a s t rong r e f l e c t o r ( f i g , 7 a) on top of a g r e a t many d i f f r ac t ions .

4. Norfolk Ridge ( f i g . 2, 3 , 4).

It s t r e t c h e s nea r ly 1,500 km between the North Western t i p of New Zealand and New Cale- donia. Two of us (C.R. and C.E. de B.) assume t h a t Norfolk Ridge i s l inked t o the North Wes- tem t i p of New Zealand through the Vening Meinesz f r a c t u r e zone. The corresponding of f - set might have been caused by the opening up of t h e Tasman Sea f a r t h e r t o the South West, To the North, it extends i n t o New Caledonia. Norfolk Ridge i s dissymmetric. The sedimentary series the re are t i l t e d towards the Eas t , The western edge i s made up by an alignment of volcanic i n t r u s i o n s , This alignment appears t o extend i n t o the western volcanic " s i l l on" (P. Routhier, 1973) of New Caledonia.

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NEW CALEDONIA BASIN - FAIRWAY RIDGE : STRUCTURAL AND SEDIMENTARY STUDY

The d i f f e r e n t sedimentary series and t h e i r age were recent ly descr ibed by J. Dupont e t al. (1975). The pos i t i on of t h i s r idge l i nk ing two areas having almost exac t ly the same geo- l o g i c a l h i s t o r y (New Caledonia and the Auck- land region) (A.R. L i l l i e and R.N. Brothers , 1970) as w e l l as the sedimentary series cha- r a c t e r i s t i c s from seismic da ta suggest t h a t t h i s r idge has undergone the same geologica l h i s t o r y as what i s known at i t s two ends.

Norfolk Ridge separa tes two very d i f f e r e n t sedimentary provinces , i .e. i n the West New Caledonia Basin with i t s th i ck sedimentary f i l l , and i n the E a s t a complex region bare of sediments and apparently of recent o r ig in .

ANALYSIS OF MAGNETIC ANOMALIES

Magnetic anomalies have made a very valua- b l e cont r ibu t ion t o the s t r u c t u r a l knowledge of the u n i t till now c a l l e d New Caledonia Ba- s i n . The magnetic r e l i e f i s q u i t e d i f f e r e n t from t h a t over the neighboring Lord How R i s e and Norfolk Ridge. Whereas across those rises the magnetic anomalies a re diverse and in t ense (Lapoui l le , t h i s volume; Launay e t a l , , t h i s volume) , here they a re w e l l character ized.

4

A p o s i t i v e magnetic anomaly wi th a long wavelength , more than one hundred ki lometers long and seve ra l hundred gammas i n amplitude, extends along the length of New Caledonia Ba- s i n where it can be seen on a l l the p r o f i l e s c ross ing the bas in ( f ig . 8). This p o s i t i v e anomaly, sometimes divided i n t o two p a r t s , ta- kes i t s o r i g i n i n the e a s t e r n border of Lans- down Bank. A reduct ion i n the magnetic pole (Galdeano, 1974) of the p r o f i l e c ross ing the a rea above Lansdown Bank, assuming the rema- nent magnetism t o be o r i en ted l i k e the pre- s e n t magnetic f i e l d , a l s o induces a s l i g h t phase displacement of the magnetic anomalies t o the East ( f i g , 9). We can thus suggest t h a t the corresponding geological s t r u c t u r e has i t s o r i g i n on the eas t e rn border of Lansdown Bank, A t h ree kilomete p r o f i l e (Galdeano , 1974) emphasizes the breadth of t h i s anomaly whose corresponding geologica l s t r u c t u r e i s thus q u i t e deep-sea- ted. A geological model def ined by i t s magne- t i c s u s c e p t i b i l i t i e s (Lapoui l le , t h i s volume) w i l l prove these conclusions t h a t the so-cal- l e d Fairway R i s e s t r u c t u r e should be sea t ed t o the North East and under Lansdowne Bank, It i s represented by a magnetic s u s c e p t i b i l i t y ran- ging t o 13.10-3 c.g.s. corresponding t o a ba-

upward prolongat ion of t h i s

148

s a l t i c body, I t s magnetic c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s thus suggest t h a t Fairway Ridge i s a magnetic rise.

p r o f i l e s which cross i t (Lapouille , t h i s volu- me), and i t jo ins West Norfolk Ridge i n the South v i a the Vening Meinesz Frac ture Zone.

This i s shown accross the f i l t e r e d regional (4

4

4

This magnetic rise i s separa ted from the cont inenta l Lord Howe R i s e by a narrow bas in we c a l l Fairway Basin. This bas in i s charac- t e r i z e d by a negat ive magnetic anomaly of high amplitude , seve ra l hundred gannnas , whose wave- length i s equal t o the bas in width.

The reduct ion i n the pole of t he p r o f i l e c ross ing Lansdown Bank ( f ig . 9) r eeea l s the cnaracteristic magnetic minimum of the bas in , while the upward prolongat ion of t h i s p r o f i l e removes the high frequencies of the va r i a t ions e

which are thus due t o a topographical e f f e c t , s ince the sea f loo r i s very close t o the s e a le- vel there . The substratum, as shown by magne- t i c anomalies, i s thus h ighe r i n the nor thern -+

p a r t of the basin.

The New Caledonia Basin sensu s t r i c t o , which i s then reduced t o the area loca ted bet- ween Fairway R i s e and New Caledonia-Norfolk Ridge, i s charac te r ized by a lack of w e l l - m a r - ked magnetic anomalies. This area i s magneti- c a l l y w e l l cont ras ted and d is t inguished from the neighboring r idges which a re marked by l a rge p o s i t i v e anomalies ou t l in ing Fairway Ridge on one hand and b a s a l t i c u p l i f t s on the s lope between Norfolk Ridge and the New Cale- donia Basin on the o the r hand. The magnetic va r i a t ions he re are extremely s l i g h t , the am- p l i tudes very low and the wavelengths no t w e l l defined. The g rea t depth of the b a s a l t i c base- ment (over la in by a th ick sedimentary layer ) could expla in the relative lack of magnetic va r i a t ions ,

'

r h

SEDIMENTARY S E R I E S

I n the bas ins , seismic p r o f i l e s enabled us t o d i s t ingu i sh up t o th ree main sedimenta- ry series separa ted by unconformities. Data from DSDP boreholes of l e g 2 1 , toge ther wi th the known land geological h i s t o r y ( L i l l i e and Brothers , 1970) enable us t o propose the fo l - lowing ages f o r the main unconformities.

- Unconformity 1 , which i s found through- out the e n t i r e area examined, corresponds i n

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NEW CALEDONIA BASIN-FAIRWAY RIDGE : STRUCTURAL AND SEDIMENTARY STUDY

the boreholes t o a gap between the Upper Eo- cene and bower and Middle Oligocene. The un- conformity i s e spec ia l ly obvious on the r id- ges and on the edges of the basin. I n the mid- d le of the bas ins the series are o f t en confor- mable, and the problem can be r a i s e d of the poss ib l e ex is tence of a more complete series.

- Unconformity 2 , i s probably s i t u a t e d i n tli8 Upper Cretaceous. It i s sometimes confused wi th the acous t ic basement,

- Unconformity 3, which i s not reached i n the boreholes , corresponds on seismic p r o f i l e s t o d i f f e r e n t phenomena. Whereas i n New Caledo- n i a Basin and on Fairway Ridge i t ove r l i e s an obvious acous t i c basement, i t appears on the contrary on Lord Howe R i s e , Norfolk Ridge and the western border of Fairway Basin t o correspond t o a s t rong unconformity separa t ing series of s ed imnta ry o r i g i n (Dubois e t a l , , 1974). It i s no t obvious t h a t t h i s unconformi- t y observed on the seismic sec t ions corres- ponds t o a synchronous phenomenon throughout the whole area.

DSDP boreholes , seismic f ac i e s and for- mations known on land suggest t h a t sediments a re mainly pe l ag ic i n Fairway Basin and i n the c e n t r a l p a r t of New Caledonia Basin. Near emerged land (New Caledonia) o r very shallow r idge (West Norfolk Ridge) the f i l l looks more t u r b i d i t i c ( f i g . 7 c ) , probably wi th a high proport ion of vo lcanic elements.

The t w o upper series t h i n out considerably on the r idges , and unconfomi t ies 1 and 2 are o f t en found t o merge, On the o the r hand, main- l y on Lord Howe R i s e , t h e r e i s a considerable developmnt of the underlying series under un- conformity 3 (Dubois e t al , , 1974).

CONCLUSI ON

The area under inves t iga t ion i s a t r ans i - t i o n zone i n which the convergence of the AUS- t ra l - Indian cont inenta l p l a t e and the oceanic P a c i f i c p l a t e i s revealed during i t s evolu t ion by a succession of f o s s i l i s l a n d arcs with as- soc ia t ed s t r u c t u r e s and elements detached from the Aus t ra l i an margin.

The s t r u c t u r a l elements making up t h i s re- gion are, f o r the most p a r t , s t r e t ched out along a submeridian d i rec t ion .

They bend towards the North West i n the North and towards the South Eas t i n the South. These bends appear t o have been caused by sprea- ding i n the North Loyalty and North F i j i Pla- teaus i n the North and by the c rea t ion of the Tasman Sea i n the South.

Three of these elements whose s t r u c t u r e i s descr ibed i n t h i s paper - Fairway Basin and Ridge and New Caledonia Basin S.S. - gradual ly become deeper i n t h e i r middle p a r t a t the l a - t i t u d e of Norfolk I s land .

Fairway Ridge, which i s the s t r u c t u r a l element t h a t we r evea l , i s probably an element aqsociated with an ac t ive f o s s i l margin (fron- t a l bulge, former alignment: o r vo lcanic a rc ) .

Fairway Basin and New Caledonia Basin S.S., whose substratum reveals no organized r e f l ec - t i o n and whose c r u s t i s t h i n , a r e bas ins probably c rea ted i n connection with the bu i l - ding of former i s l a n d arcs ( in t e r - a rc o r mar- g ina l bas in ) , The sedimentary f i l l i nd ica t e s t h a t the age of c rea t ion w a s o lde r than l a t e Cretaceous and at most j u ra s s i c .

We thank ORSTOM, IFP, C P , f o r permission t o publ i sh

t h i s paper. W e are indebted t o the o f f i c e r s and crews of the N.O. Cor io l i s and Noroi t from CNEXO and t o J.P. F a i l and R. Donatien which were geophysicis ts during Austradec II cru ise .

W e are g ra t e fu l t o M. Poulet and G. Grau f o r t h e i r c r i t i ca l reading of t h i s paper.

B I B L I OGRAPHY

BENTZ (F.P.),- 1974. Marine geology of t he Southern Lord Howe R i s e , South West Paci- f i c , i n The Geology of Continental Mar- gins . C.A. Burk and C.L. Drake Ed i to r s , S p r i n g e r V e r Z a g , New York, pp. 537-547.

BURNS (R.E.), ANDREWS (J.E.) e t al.- 1973. I n i t i a l r epor t s of the Deep Sea D r i l l i n g P r o j e c t , vol. XXI, U.S. Govt. P r i n t i n g O f f i c e , Washington , D. C.

DUBOIS (J , ) , RAVENNE (C.), AUBERTIN (F . ) , LOUIS (J . ) , GUILLAUME (R.) , LAUNAY (J.) and MONTADERT (L.) .- 1974. Cont inental Margins nea r New Caledonia, i n The Geolo-

1 4 9

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gy of Continental Margins. C.A. Burk and C.L. Drake E d i t o r s , S$T=inge.er Verzug, New York, pp. 521-535.

DUPONT (J.), LAUNAY (J.), RAVENNE (C.) and De BROIN (C.E.) .- 1975. Données nouvel les s u r l a r i d e de Norfolk (Sud Ouest Pac i f ique) . C.R. Acad. Se. , P a r i s , t. 281 , série D y pp. 605-608.

GALDEANO (A.) .- 1974. Traitement des données aéromagnétiqueq : méthodes e t applica- t i ons . Th'he'se 3eme cycZe, Univers i té P a r i s V I .

LAPOUILLE (A.) .- 1977. Magnetic Surveys over t he rises and bas ins i n the South West Pa- c i f i c , i n t h i s volume.

- . . . .

I

Seismic traverses across t h e Northern Lord Howe R i s e and comparison wi th the Southern p a r t , i n t h i s volume. r . .

LILLIE (A.R.) and BROTHERS (R,N.).- 1970. The geology of New Caledonia. New ZeaZand J . &OZ. Geophys. , vol. 13, no I , pp. 145- 183.

ROUTHIER (P.).- 1953. Etude géologique du ver- s a n t occidental de l a Nouvelle Calédonie entre l e co l de Boghen e t l a poin te d'Ara- ma, Mem. Soc. geoZ. Fr. NouveZZe Se'&, t. 32, fasc. 1-3, f e u i l l e s 1-34 Mem., n o 67, pp. 1-271.

SHOR (G.G.), KIRK (H.K.) and MENAkD (H.W.).- 1971. Crus ta l s t r u c t u r e of t he Melanesian area, J . Geophys. Res., vo l , 76, no 1 1 , pp. 2562-2586.

. .. . . ... .

150

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NEW CALEDONIA BASIN-FAIRWAY RIDGE : STRUCTURAL AND SEDIMENTARY STUDY

166' 1" 186. 170. 176'

FAIRWAY RIDGE

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TOTAL SEDIMENT THICKNESS

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151

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152

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153

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Fig.9 Reduction to the North magnetic pole and upwards prolongation of magnetic profile AUS 105

I54

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5

Sous le patronage de Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (autre-Mer Bureau de Recherches GBologiques et Mini&res Institut FranGais du PBtrole Inter-Union Commission on Geodynamics.

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