The tectonic and geodynamic evolution of New Caledonia: a view | Point de vue sur l'evolution tectonique et geodynamique de la Nouvelle-Caledonie (Pacifique, France)

Abstract

From the Permian to late Jurassic, plutonic and volcanosedimentary terranes were formed in intra-oceanic arc settings; then, these were obducted onto the "pre-Permian' metamorphic terrane and finally accreted to the east Gondwana margin in latest Jurassic times. In the late Cretaceous and Paleocene, the continuing break of the Gondwana margin resulted in the rifting of oceanic plateaus which finally reached the Eocene subduction zone of the Loyalty basin. Consequently, the subduction was blocked, ophiolotic rocks were obducted in the late Eocene, and several intraoceanic thrusts occurred. -from English summary