RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES VOL. 6, NO. 2, PAGES 133–152, doi:10.2205/2004ES000146, 2004

Deep-sea basins of the Atlantic ocean: The structure, time and mechanisms of their formation

Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Abstract

[1]  The aim of this project was to study the deep-sea basins of the Atlantic Ocean. Described in this paper are the morphology and deep crustal structure of the Argentine, Brazil, Cape, Angola, North American, Newfoundland, Canary, Sierra Leone, Iberia, and West-European basins. It is shown that they differ substantially in geological history. Also different are their internal structures. The subsidence of the respective segments of the Earth's crust took place not only following the spreading model, but also as a result of crustal extension between the spreading ridge and the continental margin, caused by the pulling apart of the continental blocks.

Received 22 April 2004; published 27 May 2004.

Keywords: deep-sea basins, Atlantic ocean, spreading model, crustal extension, spreading ridge, continental margin.