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| Tasman Rise | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tasman Rise |
| Type | Submerged continental fragment |
| Location | South Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | approx. 45°S 160°E |
| Area | ~500,000 km² |
| Depth | 500–2000 m |
| Country | Australia; New Zealand (proximal) |
Tasman Rise is a submerged continental fragment south of New Zealand and east of Tasman Sea margins, lying within the southern Pacific Ocean floor. The feature has been investigated by institutions such as the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research through surveys associated with projects like the International Indian Ocean Expedition and the Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling programs. Its study intersects research by scientists from universities including the Australian National University, University of Auckland, and Victoria University of Wellington and has implications for regional interpretations tied to the Zealandia hypothesis and the broader history of the Pacific Plate.
The Rise occupies an area south of the Chatham Rise and southeast of the Lord Howe Rise, bounded by abyssal plains and rises such as the Auckland Basin margins and proximate to features mapped by the GEBCO initiative and surveys using vessels from the Royal Australian Navy and research ships like the RV Southern Surveyor. Bathymetric mapping using multibeam sonar, gravimetry from missions like GEOSAT and seismic reflection profiles collected during cruises coordinated with the International Seabed Authority reveal topographic highs, plateaus and escarpments with depths transitioning from about 500 m to 2,000 m and slopes adjoining the Hikurangi Trench and Kermadec Trench-influenced bathymetry.
Stratigraphic and petrological analyses link the Rise to rifting events associated with the breakup of Gondwana and the marginal separation of Zealandia from Antarctica and Australia during the Cretaceous and Paleogene. Drilling data recovered by programs akin to the Deep Sea Drilling Project and Ocean Drilling Program show sequences of volcaniclastics, continental basement fragments and sedimentary packages correlated with stages recorded in the Tethys Sea reconstructions and tied to magmatic episodes recorded in the Tasman Sea opening. Isotopic dating methods such as argon–argon and uranium–lead applied to samples compared with ages from Chatham Islands and Lord Howe Island volcanism suggest episodes of extension and subsidence related to plate reorganizations concurrent with events like the Campanian and Eocene tectonism.
The Rise lies within the interaction zone of the Pacific Plate and the Australian Plate, influenced by microplate motions comparable to those recorded at the Macquarie Fault Zone and the Kermadec Arc. Seismicity catalogues maintained by agencies such as the United States Geological Survey and Geoscience Australia record low- to moderate-magnitude events and indicate reactivated faults and flexural stresses linked to trench rollback at the Hikurangi Subduction Zone. Geophysical campaigns using magnetotellurics and wide-angle seismic studies coordinated with the International Seismological Centre provide models for crustal thickness and help contrast the Rise’s crust with continental fragments exposed on New Caledonia and submerged margins of Lord Howe Island.
Circulation around the Rise is modulated by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the East Australian Current, and mesoscale eddies observed by satellite altimetry from programs like TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-3. These currents influence water mass properties including Subantarctic Mode Water and affect nutrient fluxes and upwelling comparable to processes documented at the Tasman Front and near the Subtropical Convergence. Sea surface temperature and salinity variations measured by floats from the Argo program and time-series stations operated by the Australian Antarctic Division impact regional climate teleconnections with phenomena such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation and the Southern Annular Mode.
The Rise hosts biotic assemblages influenced by temperate and subantarctic faunal provinces, including benthic communities similar to those on the Chatham Rise and pelagic species recorded in surveys by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority and Ministry for Primary Industries (New Zealand). Observations from trawl surveys, remotely operated vehicles operated by institutes like the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and biodiversity inventories coordinated with the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative report deepwater corals, sponge gardens, demersal fish, and migratory megafauna such as blue whale and southern elephant seal habitats that mirror patterns occurring around the Subantarctic Islands.
Exploration efforts have included bathymetric mapping by national hydrographic offices such as the Hydrographic Office (United Kingdom) predecessors, seismic campaigns funded by entities like the Australian Research Council, and collaborative expeditions involving the CSIR predecessor organizations. Scientific output includes peer-reviewed studies in journals published by societies such as the Geological Society of America and the Royal Society of New Zealand, and theses from researchers affiliated with institutes including Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Historical nautical charts produced by the Hydrographic Office (Royal Navy) and subsequent updates by LINZ underpin navigation and research logistics for oceanographic vessels.
Resource discussions concerning the Rise intersect with management frameworks administered by bodies like the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and regional fisheries management organizations including the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation. Potential interests in deep-sea minerals, hydrocarbon prospectivity and fisheries stocks raise governance questions analogous to those debated for regions such as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone and around New Caledonia. Conservation proposals have been informed by environmental assessments prepared under standards used by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and regional policy deliberations involving Australian Department of Agriculture and New Zealand Ministry for the Environment stakeholders.
Category:Oceanic plateaus Category:Geology of New Zealand Category:Zealandia