Abstract: Microcontinental Margins

R. Dame, J. R. Delteil, L. Montadert

Elevated aseismic structures more or less isolated in the oceans commonly have been interpreted as microcontinents. They are particularly numerous in the Indian Ocean: Crozet Plateau, Kerguelen Plateau, Madagascar Plateau, Seychelles Plateau. Geophysical data show that some of these plateaus are true microcontinents (continental crust) although others probably are elevated oceanic structures. Other examples are in the North Atlantic: the Jan Mayen Ridge in the Norwegian Sea and the Rockall Plateau. Sedimentation on the margins of true microcontinents commonly are characterized by well-defined syn-rift deposits and pelagic post-opening sediments with few clastic deposits because of the isolation from important landmasses.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90968©1977 AAPG-SEPM Annual Convention and Exhibition, Washington, DC