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Plate boundaries and evolution of the Solomon Sea region

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Abstract

The Solomon Sea Plate was widely developed during late Oligocene, separating the proto-West Melanesian Arc from the proto-Trobriand Arc. Spreading in the Bismarck Sea and in the Woodlark Basin resulted from interaction between the Pacific and Australian Plates, specifically from the collision of the proto-West Melanesian Arc with north New Guinea, which occurred after arc reversal. This model explains the extensive Miocene, Pliocene, and Quaternary volcanism of the Papua New Guinea mainland as it related to southward subduction of the Trobriand Trough. Our interpreted plate motions are concordant with the geological evidence onshore and also with complex tectonic features in the Solomon Sea Basin Region.

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Honza, E., Davies, H.L., Keene, J.B. et al. Plate boundaries and evolution of the Solomon Sea region. Geo-Marine Letters 7, 161–168 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02238046

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02238046

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