HEAT-FLOW IN JANE BASIN, NORTHWEST WEDDELL SEA

The Jane Basin is a marginal basin situated immediately to the east of the South Orkney microcontinent in the Northwest section of the Weddell Sea. Thirty-five heat flow measurements made in the Jane Basin ranged in value from 67.5 +/- 4.3 to 92.1 +/- 3.0 m W/m2. Excluding values that were corrected for tilting or were on the very edge of the basin, the remaining 28 values range between 75.0 +/- 8.0 and 84.6 +/- 9.1 m W/m2. Magnetostratigraphy on the recovered core from Ocean Drilling Program hole 697, which was drilled in Jane Basin to a depth of 322 m, allowed sedimentation rates to be calculated back to 4.5 Ma. Single-channel seismic reflection data from RSS Shackleton allowed estimations of total sediment thickness for the Jane Basin to be made. We calculate that the measured heat flow is only 86-89% of the actual heat flow as a result of sedimentation. Heat generation in the sediments contributes 1.5-1.9 m W/m2 to the total heat flow. The corrected heat flow gives an age for the Jane Basin of between 25 and 32 Ma from age-versus-heat flow comparisons, similar to the age determined from basement depth. The Scotia Sea, located to the north of Jane Basin and the South Orkney microcontinent, has been dated as anomaly 10 (30 Ma) and younger. Our calculated age for the Jane Basin would indicate that it may have been created prior to the initiation of seafloor spreading in the Scotia Sea. Evidence from major plate motions indicate that Antarctica began to rotate clockwise away from South America at about 65 Ma. Such motion may have triggered subduction along the southeast side of Jane Bank and the opening of Jane Basin as a back arc basin. Subduction at Jane Bank ended at anomaly 6A time (22 Ma) as evidenced by the age of the identified magnetic anomalies on the Antarctic plate found immediately to the east of Jane Bank. We conclude that Jane Basin opened prior to the opening of the Scotia Sea and that the spreading center that opened Jane Basin may have jumped to the Scotia Sea and produced the seafloor spreading there.