• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.179-187
• /
• 2002

The Ayu Trough, located in the southern end of the Philippine Sea, represents a divergent boundary between the Philippine Sea and the Caroline Plates. A detailed geophysical survey was carried out in the Ayu Trough by R/V Onnuri. Topographically, the Ayu Trough resembles an slow spreading ridge. The trough can be divided into three sections: the south $(0^{\circ}-1^{\circ}30'N),\;middle\;(1^{\circ}30'-4^{\circ}N)$, and north $(4^{\circ}-6^{\circ}30'N)$. The seafloor in the middle section is characterized by features asymmetric with respect to the axis. These features were probably produced by NW-SE and NNW-SSE extensions and seem to support the argument that the opening of the Ayu Trough occurred in an oblique fashion. Farther south, a long transform fault but with a short offset defines the boundary between middle and southern sections. The axial depth increases a stepwise to the south of $1^{\circ}30'N$. A clear difference can be seen between the southern and middle sections with the latter exhibiting much higher mantle Bouguer anomaly values in the axial region. The anomaly indicates that the axial crust perhaps experienced a much higher degree of extension in the middle than in the southern section. The analyses of magnetic field data reveal that the region beyond 100km exhibits considerable variations, whereas the magnetic anomalies within 100km from the trough axis are very much subdued. This observation suggests that the opening of the Ayu Trough involved an initial stage of rifting of existing volcanic arcs, followed by production of new seafloor.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.189-196
• /
• 2002

A multichannel seismic survey was conducted in the southern Ayu Trough which is the only spreading boundary between the Philippine Sea and Caroline plates. The seismic system used in this study comprises of 2.46-l sleeve gun and a 12-channel streamer with a group interval of 6.25m. Migration technique was used to analyze seismic velocity, and poststack depth migration was applied to the stacked data. The sediment thickness obtained from the depth section tends to increase with distance from the spreading axis. Sedimentation rates are poorly constrainted in the study area. The apparent half-spreading rates estimated from the sediment thickness and sedimentation rate from DSDP hole on the caroline plate are 4.7mm/yr and 7.9mm/yr at $1^{\circ}24'N\;and\;0^{\circ}42'N$, respectively, which are fester than Previously suggested. On the basis of new oblique spreading geometry, the recalculated spreading rates are 5.4mm/yr and 9.1mm/yr at $1^{\circ}24'N\;and\;0^{\circ}42'N$, respectively. Seismic sections show that the topography is asymmetric across the Ayu Trough and the acoustic basement is rough. These features are consistent with the earlier suggestion that the Ayu Trough is a slow-spreading divergent boundary. A detailed examination of seismic profiles away from the axis shows that sediments can be divided into two layers which implies a possible change in the spreading rate anuor sedimentation condition during the formation of the trough.

• Proceedings of the Petrological Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2006.05a
• /
• pp.67-69
• /
• 2006