Tectonic evolution of the Transantarctic Mountains
The tectonic evolution of the Transantarctic Mountains appears to have begun when Antarctica broke away from Australia during the late Cretaceous and is ongoing, creating along the way some of the longest mountain ranges (at 3500 kilometers) formed by rift flank uplift and associated continental rifting. The Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) separate East and West Antarctica. The rift system that formed them is caused by a reactivation of crust along the East Antarctic Craton. This rifting or seafloor spreading causes plate movement that results in a nearby convergent boundary which then forms the mountain range. The exact processes responsible for making the Transantarctic Mountains are still debated today. This results in a large variety of proposed theories that attempt to decipher the tectonic history of these mountains. Three main causes for uplift Thermal mechanisms, such as mantle plumes and magma injections into the crust, cause rift zones and thermal expansion of the mountain belt. Convergence of crustal material occurs when the rift zone pushes the West Antarctic plate into the much stronger East Antarctic plate. Flexural uplift is a mechanical process where a tectonic plate is broken by a deep normal fault resulting in the footwall uplifting rock. This uplift is