• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.571-577
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• 1994

It has been controversial whether the United States Atlantic margin, which developed during Mesozoic separation of Africa and North America, is a volcanic or non-volcanic rifted margin. To understand its nature, the basement images of multi-channel seismic profiles off the southeastern United States continental margin have been examined. One of prominent results is the presence of seaward-dipping reflector (SDR) wedges, the most diagnostic feature of volcanic rifted margins. Two sets of SDR wedges appear to exist here; one along the basement hinge zone ('the hinge SDR wedge') and another seaward of the East Coast magnetic anomaly ('the outer SDR wedge'). Seaward of the basement hinge zone, the lower crustal high-velocity body previously known as the 7.2 km/s layer and the underlying smooth Moho configuration are also observed. Based on the comparison of these basement images with the crustal structures of the well-known volcanic rifted margin, the southeastern United States Atlantic margin can now be characterized as a typical volcanic rifted margin.

• Journal of the Korean Geophysical Society
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.13-25
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• 2007

We investigated the undulation of Moho depth and the crustal structure of the continental margin in the East Sea along the Korea Peninsula from inversion and modelling using potential data and previous seismic results. Free-air gravity anomalies generally reflect topography effect. Bouguer gravity anomalies increase toward the Ulleung Basin, indicating that Moho depth is shallower under the Ulleung Basin. Positive magnetic anomalies exist along the continental margin and decrease toward the Ulleung Basin. In analytic signal, the small anomaly in the Hupo Bank infers that the Hupo Bank is uplifted by igneous intrusion and the strong anomaly on the continental slope denotes existence of SDR(seaward dipping reflectors), which are in accordance with the location of SDR detected in previous seismic studies. The inversion result of Bouguer gravity anomaly and the 2-dimensional gravity modelling indicate that the undulation of Moho depth shallows from the continental shelf toward the Ulleung Basin. This is in good agreement with the Moho depth calculated by the previous seismic velocity model using ocean bottom seismometer(OBS). The 2-dimensional gravity modelling infers magmatic underplating zone under the lower continental crust on the continental margin of the East Sea, indicating the possible rifiting of the continental margin.