Tectonic activity and plate boundaries along the northern flank of the Fiji Platform

Recent volcanic activity along the northern flank of the Fiji Platform, revealed for the first time from new GLORIA imagery, suggests that the loci of interplate motion in this region have migrated rapidly since the switch from Vitiaz to New Hebridean subduction at 5-8 Ma. At present the plate boundaries along the northern flank of the Fiji Platform consist of two major strike-slip faults of opposing sense: the sinistral Fiji Transform Fault along the northwest flank of the platform, and at least one (or possibly two) zones of dextral strike slip (including Peggy Ridge) along the northeast flank. The tectonic relationships of these two fault systems lies north of Fiji and is not determined.