Mise en evidence d'une deformation de la lithosphere a partir de l'etude quantitative de l'evolution geomorphologique des iles Australes et Cook du Sud en Polynesie

The insular alignment of the Austral and Southern Cook islands in the South Pacific, originated from the MacDonald hot spot, spreads along 1554 miles from the SE towards the NW according to the drift of the Pacific plate. The evolution of this archipelago contrasts with the simple process of the Society islands farther up N, where the progressive immersion of the relief corresponds with the slow subsidence of the lithospheric plate. The Austral and Southern Cook islands would have undergone two distinct geodynamic occurrences: an initial formation of the islands over a hot spot, and, later on, a volcanic reactivation bound to the lithospheric swelling. -from English summary