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Puerto Rico–Virgin Islands microplate

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The Puerto Rico–Virgin Islands microplate (PRVI), also known as the Puerto Rico–Virgin Islands block, is a tectonic microplate formed at the boundary zone between the Caribbean plate and the obliquely subducting North American plate.[1][2][3][4][5]

Details

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Consisting of the archipelagos of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, it is bounded to the north by the Puerto Rico Trench, to the south by the Muertos Trough, to the east by the Virgin Island Basin, Anegada Gap, and Sombrero Basin in the Anegada Passage, and to west by the Yuma Basin and Mona Canyon in the Mona Passage.[6][7][8][9][10]

The existence of this microplate was first proposed in 1991.[11] GPS has monitored the microplate with permanent stations for more than two decades.[12][13]

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands lie on the same carbonate platform, the Puerto Rico Bank, within the microplate.

 
Bathymetry of the North American plate and Caribbean plate boundary zone showing the major features of the Puerto Rico-Virgin Island Microplate: the Puerto Rico Trench to the north; the Muertos Trough the south; the Anegada Trough and Virgin Islands Basin within the Anegada Passage to the east; and the Mona Canyon within the Mona Passage to the west[14]

References

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  1. ^ van Benthem, Steven; Govers, Rob; Wortel, Rinus (May 2014). "What drives microplate motion and deformation in the northeastern Caribbean plate boundary region?". Tectonics. 33 (5): 850–873. doi:10.1002/2013TC003402.
  2. ^ Symithe, S.; Calais, E.; de Chabalier, J. B.; Robertson, R.; Higgins, M. (May 2015). "Current block motions and strain accumulation on active faults in the Caribbean". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 120 (5): 3748–3774. doi:10.1002/2014JB011779.
  3. ^ Benford, B.; DeMets, C.; Calais, E. (November 2012). "GPS estimates of microplate motions, northern Caribbean: evidence for a Hispaniola microplate and implications for earthquake hazard: Microplate motions in the northern Caribbean". Geophysical Journal International. 191 (2): 481–490. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2012.05662.x.
  4. ^ Calais, Éric; Symithe, Steeve; Mercier de Lépinay, Bernard; Prépetit, Claude (17 December 2015). "Plate boundary segmentation in the northeastern Caribbean from geodetic measurements and Neogene geological observations". Comptes Rendus. Géoscience. 348 (1): 42–51. doi:10.1016/j.crte.2015.10.007.
  5. ^ Montheil, Leny; Philippon, Mélody; Münch, Philippe; Camps, Pierre; Vaes, Bram; Cornée, Jean-Jacques; Poidras, Thierry; van Hinsbergen, Douwe J. J. (August 2023). "Paleomagnetic Rotations in the Northeastern Caribbean Region Reveal Major Intraplate Deformation Since the Eocene". Tectonics. 42 (8). doi:10.1029/2022TC007706.
  6. ^ US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Exploring Puerto Rico's Seamounts, Trenches, and Troughs: Background: Geology: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research". oceanexplorer.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  7. ^ "Morphotectonics of the central Muertos thrust belt and Muertos Trough" (PDF). Red Sísmica de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Extension in Mona Passage, Northeast Caribbean" (PDF). ScienceDirect. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Mature Diffuse Tectonic Block Boundary Revealed by the 2020 Southwestern Puerto Rico Seismic Sequence". ResearchGate. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  10. ^ "The polyphased tectonic evolution of the Anegada Passage in the northern Lesser Antilles subduction zone". ResearchGate. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Neotectonics of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Northeastern Caribbean, from GPS Geode". USF Digital Commons. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  12. ^ Jansma, Pamela E.; Mattioli, Glen S. (2005), "GPS results from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands: Constraints on tectonic setting and rates of active faulting", Active Tectonics and Seismic Hazards of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Offshore Areas, Geological Society of America, ISBN 978-0-8137-2385-3, retrieved 2024-10-03
  13. ^ Solares, M. M.; Lopez, A. M.; Mattioli, G. S.; Jansma, P. E. (2018-12-01). "Quantifying Rigidity of the Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands Block Using Two Decades of GPS Observations". American Geophysical Union. 2018: G23C–0626.
  14. ^ "Caribbean". Home | Universidad de Granada. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
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