Morphotectonics of the Mascarene Islands
Main Article Content
Abstract
A study is made of the orientations (strikes/trends) of joints, valleys, ridges and lineaments, i.e. of the (potentially) morphotectonic features, of the Mascarene Islands (Reunion, Mauritius and Rodrigues) in the Indian Ocean. It turns out that a connection exists between these features on all islands. For the joints alone, the results for Mauritius as a whole agree closely with those for Rodrigues as a whole, and also partially with those of Reunion. Inasmuch as the trends of the valleys, ridges and lineaments are related to the trends (strikes) of the joints, a common morphotectonic predesign seems to be present for all features studied. The morphotectonic orientations on the island also agree closely with the trends of fracture zones, ridges and trenches in the nearby ocean bottom; which has had a bearing
on the theories of the origin of the Mascarene Islands. Generally, a hot-spot origin is preferred for Reunion, and
may be for Mauritius as well, although differing opinions have also been voiced. The dynamics of a hot-spot is hard
to reconcile with the close fit of the joint strikes in Réunion with the trends of the Madagascar and Rodrigues fracture zones. The closely agreeing joint maxima in Mauritius and Rodrigues í across the deep Mauritius trench í also agree with the trend of that trench and with the trend of the Rodrigues fracture zone. Thus, it would appear as most likely that the trends of joints and of fracture zones are all part of the same pattern and are due to the same cause: viz. to action of the neotectonic stress field.
on the theories of the origin of the Mascarene Islands. Generally, a hot-spot origin is preferred for Reunion, and
may be for Mauritius as well, although differing opinions have also been voiced. The dynamics of a hot-spot is hard
to reconcile with the close fit of the joint strikes in Réunion with the trends of the Madagascar and Rodrigues fracture zones. The closely agreeing joint maxima in Mauritius and Rodrigues í across the deep Mauritius trench í also agree with the trend of that trench and with the trend of the Rodrigues fracture zone. Thus, it would appear as most likely that the trends of joints and of fracture zones are all part of the same pattern and are due to the same cause: viz. to action of the neotectonic stress field.
Article Details
How to Cite
Hantke, R. and Scheidegger, A. E. (1998) “Morphotectonics of the Mascarene Islands”, Annals of Geophysics, 41(2). doi: 10.4401/ag-4330.
Issue
Section
OLD
Open-Access License
No Permission Required
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia applies the Creative Commons Attribution License (CCAL) to all works we publish.
Under the CCAL, authors retain ownership of the copyright for their article, but authors allow anyone to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute, so long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.
In most cases, appropriate attribution can be provided by simply citing the original article.
If the item you plan to reuse is not part of a published article (e.g., a featured issue image), then please indicate the originator of the work, and the volume, issue, and date of the journal in which the item appeared. For any reuse or redistribution of a work, you must also make clear the license terms under which the work was published.
This broad license was developed to facilitate open access to, and free use of, original works of all types. Applying this standard license to your own work will ensure your right to make your work freely and openly available. For queries about the license, please contact ann.geophys@ingv.it.