Charcot Plate Explained

The Charcot Plate was a fragment of the Phoenix Plate.^[1] The subduction of the Charcot Plate, beneath West Antarctica, stopped before 83 Ma, and became fused onto the Antarctic Peninsula.^[2] Researchers have suggested that there are remnants of the western part of the Charcot Plate in the Bellingshausen Sea.^[2]

Notes and References

1. Eagles G, Gohl K, Larter RD. High-resolution animated tectonic reconstruction of the South Pacific and West Antarctic Margin. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst.. 5. 7. Q07002. 10.1029/2003GC000657. 2004-07-10. 2004GGG.....5.7002E. free.
2. Larter RD, Cunningham AP, Barker PF, Gohl K, Nitsche FO. Tectonic evolution of the Pacific margin of Antarctica, 1, Late Cretaceous tectonic reconstructions. J. Geophys. Res.. 107. B12. 2345. 10.1029/2000JB000052. 2002-12-13. 2002JGRB..107.2345L. free.