Geodynamics and Active Tectonics of Fiordland, New Zealand: Workshop

0118939

Furlong

The accommodation of transpression along plate boundaries can be accomplished in many ways. Along the Australian - Pacific plate boundary within the South Island of New Zealand, there is a profound change in the style of transpressional tectonics between the crustal/lithospheric shortening and uplift of the Southern Alps segment of the plate boundary and the localized subduction-like behavior of the Fiordland segment. Why such a substantial change in plate boundary tectonics occurs over distances of only tens of kilometers without any significant change in plate kinematics is a fundamental issue of lithospheric geodynamics and most likely reflects the complex interplay of tectonic history, local lithospheric structure, and 3-D plate kinematics. Unraveling this complex set of processes requires truly interdisciplinary studies. In order to foster such interdisciplinary research and develop plans for future collaborative projects, we are holding a research workshop focusing on the geodynamics and active tectonics of the Fiordland plate boundary region. The workshop will occur in January 2002 (the New Zealand summer). The 'meeting' segment of the workshop is at the University of Otago in Dunedin, while the 'field' segment of the workshop (involving a subset of the meeting attendees) is based out of Te Anau, a small town on the eastern margin of Fiordland. The university setting provides suitable facilities for scientific presentations (both oral and poster) and discussions, while Te Anau is an excellent base for sorties into Fiordland. In order to encourage focused discussions of our current understanding of the tectonics of the region, poster presentations and substantial discussion time are the main component of the meeting part of the workshop. To provide an overview of the interdisciplinary issues, there is one 'background' presentation for each half-day session of the meeting.