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Magnetic Smooth Zones in the South Atlantic

Nature volume 240, pages 80–84 (1972)Cite this article

Abstract

Aeromagnetic profiles show two types of smooth magnetic zone in the South Atlantic symmetrically positioned about the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The first borders the continental margins off Argentina and the Union of South Africa and the second extends over part of the Argentine-Brazil and Angola-Cape basins. The origin of the first zone may be related to the tectonic and/or diagenetic processes associated with the initial rifting of South America from Africa and the second can be simply explained by seafloor spreading during Middle-Late Cretaceous time when the polarity of the Earth's field was relatively constant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNEXO-CNRS, Paris

    J. MASCLE

  2. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543

    J. D. PHILLIPS

Authors
  1. J. MASCLE
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  2. J. D. PHILLIPS
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MASCLE, J., PHILLIPS, J. Magnetic Smooth Zones in the South Atlantic. Nature 240, 80–84 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/240080a0

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