Dh. Elliot et Th. Fleming, Weddell triple junction: The principal focus of Ferrar and Karoo magmatismduring initial breakup of Gondwana, GEOLOGY, 28(6), 2000, pp. 539-542
Middle Jurassic Ferrar tholeiites of Antarctica were emplaced during a shor
t time interval (<1 m.y.) into an active rift system initiated in the Early
Jurassic. Ferrar magmas were dispersed into the Antarctic sector of Gondwa
na from a source in the Weddell Sea region, within the thermal anomaly that
also gave rise to the Karoo basaltic rocks of southern Africa. The Golden
Gate lavas, part of the Karoo central area low-Ti tholeiites, show geochemi
cal similarities to Ferrar rocks. Tectonic and geochemical relationships of
the Ferrar and Karoo low-Ti magmas, which constitute a major part of the J
urassic Gondwana large igneous province, suggest that they were derived fro
m a single source associated with a triple junction in the proto-Weddell Se
a region.