Date of Award

Fall 12-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Ocean & Earth Sciences

Program/Concentration

Ocean and Earth Sciences

Committee Director

Nora Noffke

Committee Member

Jennifer Georgen

Committee Member

Victoria Hill

Committee Member

William Sager

Abstract

This study investigates ridge spreading rates and plate boundary geometry in interactions between large igneous provinces and mid ocean ridges, and their role in the kinematics of Shatsky Rise, an undersea volcanic plateau in the western Pacific Ocean that is roughly the size of the state of California. Shatsky Rise formed at a ridge-ridge-ridge (RRR) triple junction (TJ) (Hilde et al., 1976; Sager et al., 1988), at the intersection of the Pacific-Izanagi, Pacific-Farallon, and Izanagi-Farallon ridges, beginning at approximately 147 Ma. Investigations into Shatsky Rise’s formation are limited by the fact that two-thirds of the seafloor data has subducted with the Izanagi and Farallon plates. Information garnered from the subducted Izanagi-Farallon spreading center, including opening rate and azimuth, are needed for advancing kinematic and geodynamic models of Shatsky Rise’s tectonic evolution. Utilizing the TJ velocity vector solution method, this is the first study that addresses the feasibility of employing a systematic approach to constrain spreading rates and ridge azimuths for the Izanagi-Farallon ridge as well as opening rates for half of the Pacific-Izanagi and Pacific-Farallon ridge systems. The success of this model expands research possibilities for future geodynamic modeling of Shatsky Rise as well as other seafloor plateaus formed at TJs.

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DOI

10.25777/fmfx-e707

ISBN

9798276040752

ORCID

0009-0003-9645-6749

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