Earth history of the southeast Indian Ocean and the conjugate margins of Australia and Antarctica

Australia until their breakup by the growth of mid-Cretaceous (96 Ma).The separation of the land areas of mid-Jurassic mm/year) by normal and listric faulting ina _ 600 continental margins.In the first phase of seafloor today by the submerged and Antarctica occupied the eastern part of Gondwanaland the Southeast growth of the ocean was preceded by a stage of the continents' that (160 Ma).This separation was effected by 360 km of extension ( 6Indian Ocean in the started in the km wide zone represented spreading, from the mid-Cretaceous to the Eocene (45 Ma), the Southeast Indian Ocean grew to a width of 500 km at the slow rate of 10 another 2600 km second phase grew mm/year, and in the at a fast rate of 60 mm/year.Even so, Australia and Antarctica remained side by side along the N-trending transform faults in the east until the Oligocene (35 Ma).With their subsequent definitive separation, the Circum-Antarctic Current was able to flow unimpeded through the oceanic gap with the result that Antarctica became water of the rest of the world ocean and this contributed to its the surface intense glaciation.