Download Subsidence and uplift by slab-related mantle dynamics: a driving

Subsidence and uplift by slab-related mantle dynamics: a driving
mechanism for the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic evolution of
continental SE Asia?
BENJAMIN CLEMENTS1,2*, PETER M. BURGESS1, ROBERT HALL1 &
MICHAEL A. COTTAM1
1
SE Asia Research Group, Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London,
Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
2
Statoil ASA, Forusbeen 50, N-4035 Stavanger, Norway
*Corresponding author (e-mail: [email protected])
Abstract: Continental SE Asia is the site of an extensive Cretaceous– Paleocene regional unconformity that extends from Indochina to Java, covering an area of c. 5 600 000 km2. The unconformity has previously been related to microcontinental collision at the Java margin that halted
subduction of Tethyan oceanic lithosphere in the Late Cretaceous. However, given the disparity
in size between the accreted continental fragments and area of the unconformity, together with
lack of evidence for requisite crustal shortening and thickening, the unconformity is unlikely to
have resulted from collisional tectonics alone. Instead, mapping of the spatial extent of the
mid–Late Cretaceous subduction zone and the Cretaceous– Paleocene unconformity suggests
that the unconformity could be a consequence of subduction-driven mantle processes. Cessation
of subduction, descent of a northward dipping slab into the mantle, and consequent uplift and denudation of a sediment-filled Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous dynamic topographic low help
explain the extent and timing of the unconformity. Sediments started to accumulate above the
unconformity from the Middle Eocene when subduction recommenced beneath Sundaland.
Throughout continental SE Asia (referred to here
as Sundaland; Fig. 1) there are almost no Upper
Cretaceous and Paleocene strata, suggesting that
much of the region was elevated during this
time. Cenozoic rocks rest on older rocks with a
profound unconformity. Rocks beneath the unconformity are considered basement and comprise
predominantly Cretaceous and older granites, Mesozoic sedimentary rocks, accreted ophiolitic and
arc rocks, and pre-Mesozoic metamorphic rocks.
Sedimentary rocks above the unconformity are
Eocene and younger (Fig. 1) and include siliciclastic, volcanogenic and carbonate lithologies that
were deposited across the region in extensional halfgraben basins, and at the Sundaland continental
margins. These deposits are initially commonly terrestrial and their depositional ages are often poorly
constrained.
The unconformity has previously been interpreted as the result of a poorly defined tectonothermal event that occurred throughout Indochina
and the Malay Peninsula (e.g. Krähenbuhl 1991;
Ahrendt et al. 1993; Dunning et al. 1995; Upton
1999) or as a consequence of continental collision
at the Sundaland margin (e.g. Hall & Morley
2004; Smyth et al. 2007; Hall 2009). However,
there has been no attempt to estimate the extent
of, or describe, the unconformity itself, or to
propose a driving mechanism capable of producing
uplift over such a large area.
In this paper we demonstrate that the area
covered by the unconformity is in excess of
5 600 000 km2 (c. 2000 by c. 2800 km – greater
than the area of the Western United States; Fig. 2
or ten times the size of mainland France) and it
extends from Indochina to SE Borneo and East
Java (Fig. 1), and that micro-continental collisions in the Late Cretaceous were coincidental
with the onset of regional uplift. However, from
an assessment of the spatial extent of accreted continental crust, the corresponding extent of the
unconformity (Fig. 1), and regional exhumation
trends, we suggest that uplift of a Late Jurassic to
Early –mid Cretaceous dynamic topographic low
(DTL) also contributed to the formation of the
unconformity. Uplift was triggered by termination
of subduction, slab detachment and the resulting
dynamic rebound across the region. Furthermore,
we support the suggestion (Hall 2009) that the
initiation of Cenozoic basin development may
have been related to resumption of subduction at
c. 45 Ma.
From: Hall, R., Cottam, M. A. & Wilson, M. E. J. (eds) The SE Asian Gateway: History and Tectonics
of the Australia– Asia Collision. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 355, 37– 51.
DOI: 10.1144/SP355.3 0305-8719/11/$15.00 # The Geological Society of London 2011.
38
B. CLEMENTS ET AL.
Fig. 1. (a) Our interpreted extent of the unconformity, the core of Sundaland as defined by Hamilton (1979), and
the approximate positions of accreted ophiolitic and arc-type rocks and continental fragments added to the margin in
the Late Cretaceous. (b) Sedimentary basins and their ‘ages’ in the region that is affected by the unconformity.
Highlighted basins are the Malay, Nam Con Son, West Natuna, Central Sumatra, South Sumatra, Kutei, Barito and
SE Java basins (Polochan et al. 1991; Gwang et al. 2001; Doust & Noble 2008; Smyth et al. 2008) – simplified
lithostratigraphies are shown in Figure 6.
SUBSIDENCE AND UPLIFT IN SE ASIA
39
Fig. 2. Indonesia, Malaysia and Indochina compared to the USA. The SE Asia Regional Unconformity is
5 600 000 km2 (c. 2000 by c. 2800 km) – greater than the area of the Western United States. The box is 608 from west to
east and 308 from north to south (Indonesia and Malaysia comparison to USA modified from Hall & Smyth 2008).
Expected styles of uplift: collisionalv. mantle-driven
Geologists have long recognized that convergence
of continental lithospheric blocks or plates is
accommodated by crustal thickening and regional
uplift (orogenesis). This occurs over relatively
short distances (tens to hundreds of km; Murrell
1986) perpendicular to the collision suture but
may extend great distances along strike, forming
an orogenic belt. During continental collision,
deformation starts at the margin of the indenting
plate with continued convergence leading to development of a fold-thrust belt that propagates outwards from the collision suture. Rapid exhumation
of lower crustal material is common, marking significant rock uplift and related denudation, and the
resulting unconformity often cuts deep into basement rocks with dimensions reflecting the pattern
of crustal deformation (i.e. narrow across, and
elongate along strike). The size of the indentor, rate
of convergence and pre-existing structural trends
are all important factors that may modify styles of
deformation (e.g. Murrell 1986; Ellis 1996; Willingshofer & Sokoutis 2009), uplift and the extent of
the resulting unconformity. Even major orogens
such as the European Alps and New Zealand’s
Southern Alps show topographic profiles that rarely
exceed several hundred kilometres in width
(Fig. 3) (Koons 1995). Deformation belts in smaller
orogens involving less significant collisions are
often much narrower. Where contractional deformation is observed away from continental margins
these are often sites of older stretching and crustal
thinning. Here, intra-plate stresses drive inversion
that is initially linked to the reactivation of individual,
pre-existing (extensional) faults, with further compression also leading to fold-thrust belt development and orogenesis (e.g. the European Pyrenean
orogen; Munoz 1992).
Intra-plate stresses can also be manifest as vertical crustal movements that result from lithospheric
folding (e.g. Lambeck et al. 1984; Cloetingh et al.
1999, 2006; Horváth et al. 2006). Typically, theoretical studies suggest that coupled and decoupled
behaviour of continental lithospheres generate
mono- and biharmonic modes of folding respectively (Gerbault et al. 1999; Faccenda et al. 2009)
and the spacing between regularly distributed folds
can be expected to be 4–8 times the thickness of
the competent layer (brittle crust) (Martinod &
Davy 1994). However, examples of irregular
lithosphere folding (e.g. Cloetingh et al. 1999), as
observed in the Pannonian –Carpathian region,
may be up to 25– 40 times (350–400 km wavelength) the thickness of the brittle crust (Dombrádi
et al. 2010). In such instances of lithospheric
folding the associated unconformity could be
expected to be broad and with minimal incision,
Fig. 3. Topographic profiles from (a) Southern Alps,
New Zealand and (b) the Western European Alps
(modified from Koons 1995) illustrating that even major
orogens rarely exceed several hundred kilometres
in width.
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B. CLEMENTS ET AL.
but not to extend beyond the fold crest. Importantly,
physical models (Dombrádi et al. 2010) predict that
such fold wavelengths are reduced dramatically
when crustal heterogeneities are present, particularly if the lithosphere is hot and weak.
Lithospheric flexure, driven by crustal loading/
subduction processes, may also contribute locally
to uplift, although the viscoelastic nature of continental lithosphere dictates that such uplift cannot
be sustained for (geologically) long periods of
time (e.g. c. 104 to 106 years or more). Such estimates are dependent upon mantle viscosity and the
flexural rigidity of the lithosphere.
Processes in the viscous mantle (buoyancy
forces/mass anomalies) have also been shown to
drive uplift and subsidence of continental and
oceanic lithosphere (e.g. Gurnis 1990, 1992, 1993;
Lithgow-Bertelloni & Gurnis 1997). Mass anomalies in the mantle transmit stress to the base of
the lithosphere via viscous flow and create
dynamic topography (e.g. Gurnis 1993; Moucha
et al. 2008). For example, viscous mantle flow
associated with subduction of a cold, dense slab
causes subsidence creating a dynamic topographic
low (DTL; Fig. 10b). The DTL can extend thousands
of kilometres from the subduction zone and have an
amplitude of several hundred metres to more than
1 km depending on the dip and age of the slab (e.g.
Burgess & Moresi 1999; Husson 2006; Steinberger
2007). When the slab detaches and sinks into the
mantle the viscous forces maintaining the DTL are
reduced or removed, and the area is uplifted
(Fig. 10d). Any sedimentary rocks deposited in the
DTL will tend to be eroded, generating an unconformity, the extent of which is similar to the original
DTL (e.g. Gurnis et al. 1996; Burgess et al. 1997).
Uplift is further accentuated by denudation and the
resultant isostatic rebound, with a damped positive
feedback driving further uplift.
Sundaland: continental SE Asia
Much of Sundaland (Fig. 1) is allochthonous and it is
a composite region of continental fragments (terranes), volcanic arcs and oceanic accretionary complexes that successively rifted and separated from
the margin of eastern Gondwana at various times
during the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic (e.g. Metcalfe
1996) and were added to a growing Eurasia. All of
these terranes are interpreted to have been derived
directly or indirectly from Gondwana (e.g. Sengor
1979; Audley-Charles 1983; Metcalfe 1988) based
mainly on comparative studies of the stratigraphy,
palaeontology and palaeomagnetism. The continental core of Sundaland comprises the Indochina–East
Malaya Block and the Sibumasu Block, both of
which separated from Gondwana in the Palaeozoic
and amalgamated with the South and North China
blocks in the Triassic. Three further blocks were subsequently added to the core of Sundaland; the SW
Borneo Block (Hall 2009; Hall et al. 2009) followed
by the East Java– West Sulawesi Block (Smyth et al.
2007; Hall 2009) (Fig. 1) were both derived from
Gondwana. The Dangerous Grounds Block (Fig. 1)
was probably derived from the South China margin
(Hall et al. 2009).
Sundaland includes the landmasses of Borneo,
Java, Sumatra and the Thai– Malay Peninsula and
extends northwards into Indochina (Fig. 1) and is
characterized by very little seismicity and volcanism in the interior, away from the active margins.
The region has experienced terrestrial to shallow
marine conditions for most of the Cenozoic. The
area that lies between the major landmasses is
referred to as the Sunda Shelf (Fig. 1) and is typically flat and extensively shallow with water
depths rarely exceeding 200 m (Hall 2009). These
features have led to the common misconception
that Sundaland has been a stable area during the
Cenozoic (see discussions in Hall 2002, 2009;
Hall & Morley 2004) often being referred to as a
shield or craton (Ben-Avraham & Emery 1973;
Gobbett & Hutchison 1973; Tjia 1992, 1996) or
plate (e.g. Davies 1984; Cole & Crittenden 1997;
Replumaz & Tapponnier 2003). The apparent stability of the Sunda Shelf (e.g. Geyh et al. 1979; Tjia
1992, 1996; Hanebuth et al. 2000) has resulted in
data from the region being used in global eustatic
sea level curves (e.g. Haq et al. 1987; Fleming
et al. 1998; Bird et al. 2007). Sundaland lithosphere
however differs markedly from other regions (e.g.
African, Australian, Baltic Canadian shields) of
stability (e.g. Hall & Morley 2004; Hyndman
et al. 2005; Currie & Hyndman 2006; Hall 2009),
and exhibits high heat flow (Doust & Sumner
2007; Hall 2009) and low seismic velocities in the
lithosphere and asthenosphere (e.g. Widiyantoro &
van der Hilst 1997; Bijwaard et al. 1998; Ritsema
& van Heijst 2000). These observations indicate
that the lithosphere is thin and weak in the region
(Hall & Morley 2004; Hyndman et al. 2005).
These characteristics are a consequence of prolonged subduction (Hyndman et al. 2005) and are
typical of other back-arc mobile belts such as the
North American Cordillera and parts of the NW
Pacific (Hyndman et al. 2005).
Evidence for Cretaceous subduction and
collision in SE Asia
Plutonic and volcanic rocks
There are abundant plutonic and volcanic rocks of
Jurassic and Early–mid Cretaceous age exposed in
SUBSIDENCE AND UPLIFT IN SE ASIA
Sumatra, SE Borneo, Vietnam, and along the eastern
China margin that are generally accepted to be subduction related. These typically occur inboard from
the zone of subduction complexes (where present –
see below) and, in many places, demonstrate that
there was subduction beneath the Sundaland –
Eurasian margin prior to collisions in the early
Late Cretaceous.
In Sumatra there are abundant I-type plutons
(Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous) that are
exposed along the entire active margin (McCourt
et al. 1996) and which formed above a northeastward dipping subduction system (beneath Sundaland). Associated with these are volcanic rocks
such as Lower Cretaceous andesites exposed in
the Omblin Basin (e.g. Koning & Aulia 1985) as
well as other examples from within the Sumatra
Fault Zone (e.g. Rosidi et al. 1976). In SE Borneo
there are andesitic lavas, tuffs and volcanic breccias
that are assigned entirely to the Haruyan Formation
by Wakita et al. (1998) or placed within the Alino
Group by Sikumbang & Heryanto (1994) and
Yuwono et al. (1988) that are interpreted to represent a volcanic arc suite. These lithologies are
approximately Late Aptian to Cenomanian in
age (115 –93.5 Ma) (Yuwono et al. 1988; Wakita
et al. 1998).
Widespread granitic magmatism in mainland
eastern China during the Late Jurassic and Early
Cretaceous is generally accepted to be subduction
related. Jahn et al. (1976) suggest that a Cretaceous (120 –90 Ma) thermal event along the SE
China margin was related to westward-directed
Pacific subduction. Subduction-related magmatism had ceased in Southern China by 80 Ma (Li
& Li 2007). Zhou et al. (2008) used geophysical
data to propose that a Jurassic to Early Cretaceous
subduction complex can be traced south from
Taiwan along the present northern margin of the
South China Sea and was displaced to Palawan by
opening of the South China Sea. Cretaceous granites
are also reported from Vietnam (Nguyen et al. 2004)
with youngest ages of 88 Ma. There was probably
collision along parts of the eastern margin of Sundaland during the Late Cretaceous. Hall et al. (2009)
suggest that the Dangerous Grounds Block became
part of the Asia margin at about 90 Ma having
rifted from the China margin (Fig. 4). There is
little evidence for subduction after 80 Ma along
the South China margin.
Subduction complexes
Cretaceous subduction complexes including ophiolitic and arc-type rocks are exposed along the west
coast of Sumatra, in Java and in SE Borneo, and are
products of prolonged subduction beneath Sundaland that continued until the early Late Cretaceous
41
Fig. 4. Plate tectonic reconstruction of the region at c.
100 Ma (modified from Hall et al. 2009). Note that most
of the region is surrounded by subduction zones and there
is impending collision at both the southern and
northeastern margins of Sundaland. The Sundaland
region was in a dynamic topographic low (DTL) prior to
collision. WA, Woyla Arc – exposed onshore Sumatra
as the Woyla Group (Nappe) (e.g. Barber & Crow 2005);
IA, Incertus Arc (after Hall et al. 2009) which is
tentatively correlated with the Mawgyi Nappe of western
Burma (Barber & Crow 2009).
(Fig. 1). In Sumatra, the Woyla Group includes
ophiolitic rocks, pelagic and volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks (Fig. 5f), and basaltic-andesitic volcanic
rocks, interpreted as a Late Jurassic –Early Cretaceous intra-oceanic arc (Barber & Crow 2005). The
timing of collision with Sumatra is estimated at
98 –92 Ma (M. J. Crow, pers. comm. 2008) based
on overthrust Aptian –Albian fringing reef carbonates (Fig. 5e) and associated metamorphism of
rocks of mid Cretaceous age (Barber &
Crow 2009). In Java, similar subduction-related
lithologies comprise pillow basalts (Fig. 5a), cherts
(Fig. 5b), limestones, schists and metasedimentary
rocks, interpreted as arc and ophiolitic terranes
(e.g. Parkinson et al. 1998; Wakita 2000). Ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks at Karangsambung, East Java, such as jadeite –quartz– glaucophane bearing rocks and eclogites (Fig. 5d), are
diagnostic of subduction metamorphism (Miyazaki
et al. 1998). Radiolarian biostratigraphy (Wakita
& Munasri 1994) and K –Ar dates on muscovite
from quartz-mica schist (124 –110 Ma; Miyazaki
et al. 1998; Parkinson et al. 1998) yield Cretaceous
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B. CLEMENTS ET AL.
Fig. 5. (a) Pillow basalts and (b) deformed radiolarian cherts from Karangsambung, Central Java, that were obducted
during collision of the East Java– West Sulawesi microplate. (c) Sheared serpentinized peridotites from the Meratus
Mountains accretionary belt, SE Borneo. (d) High temperature – very high pressure eclogite from Karangsambung,
Central Java. This is of probable Cretaceous age and is related to the Meratus subduction system that existed prior to
collision of the East Java– West Sulawesi microplate. (e) Limestone islets of the Woyla Group off the west coast of
Sumatra, near Lhoknga, Aceh. These limestones have yielded Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous fossils (Barber & Crow
2005, p. 41) and probably fringed volcanic cones of the Woyla oceanic arc (A. J. Barber, pers. comm., 2009). (f) Folded
volcaniclastic sandstones of the Woyla Group, North Sumatra.
ages for subduction-related rocks. In the Meratus
Mountains, SE Borneo, ultramafic rocks (Fig. 5c),
basalt, chert, siliceous shale, melange and schist
are interpreted to represent accreted arc and
oceanic-type crust (Parkinson et al. 1998; Wakita
et al. 1998). Radiolarian biostratigraphy yields
ages that range from early Middle Jurassic to early
Late Cretaceous (Wakita et al. 1998).
SUBSIDENCE AND UPLIFT IN SE ASIA
Timing of collision
Collision of the East Java–West Sulawesi block
(Hall 2009) was probably responsible for termination of subduction beneath Sundaland (Smyth
et al. 2007). The collision must have been later
than the youngest radiolarian ages associated with
pillow basalts in Java and Borneo (early Late Cretaceous), and the fragment must have been in
place before initiation of the present phase of
43
subduction at c. 45 Ma (Hall 2002, 2009). New
plate reconstructions (Hall et al. 2009), based on
the evidence summarized above and the beginning
of a widespread hiatus in magmatism along the
margin, indicate that the fragment arrived between
92 and 80 Ma. Clements (2008) and Clements &
Hall (2008) suggest an age of c. 80 –85 Ma based
on U – Pb dating of zircons in Eocene fore-arc sandstones in West Java that record arc volcanism prior
to collision and post-collisional magmatism.
Fig. 6. Regional lithostratigraphic chart. Basins have been chosen as representative of sedimentary fill across the
region – basin locations are shown in Figure 1. The earliest sedimentary fill in many of the basins was deposited in
a terrestrial setting and depositional ages are poorly constrained. Ascertaining more precise ages for the earliest stages
of fill in these basins, particularly in SE Borneo, is the focus of current research. Note that ‘basement’ refers to the
pre-Cenozoic section. Modified from Polochan et al. (1991), Gwang et al. (2001), Doust & Noble (2008) and Smyth
et al. (2008).
44
B. CLEMENTS ET AL.
A Late Cretaceous to Eocene unconformity
Regional exhumation data
We draw attention to the size of the SE Asia
Regional Unconformity and the SE Asia region in
Figure 2 by comparing both to the United States.
The extent of the unconformity is shown in
Figure 1. Few sedimentary rocks of latest Cretaceous and Paleocene age (Fig. 6) are preserved
within this area, except in NW Kalimantan and
Sarawak where there are marginal marine and terrestrial clastic sediments (summarized by Hutchison
2005). Where observed on land – in places such as
Sumatra, Java and Borneo – the unconformity is
angular and overlies variously deformed rocks that
are Cretaceous and older (Fig. 7 shows the unconformity in West Sumatra and Fig. 8a, b illustrates
the nature of Eocene terrestrial sequences immediately above the unconformity). The unconformity
has also been penetrated throughout the region by
exploration drilling offshore (e.g. Hamilton 1979).
In the next sections we discuss evidence for regional
exhumation from thermochronological studies as
well as the nature of rocks that were deposited in
the DTL immediately prior to uplift in the early
Late Cretaceous.
Thermochronological studies from across the region
provide direct constraints on the widespread uplift,
erosion and exhumation of basement rocks during
the Late Cretaceous and Early Palaeogene. The
paucity of such studies in the south (e.g. Java)
reflects a lack of exposed pre-Cenozoic rocks, and
an abundance of younger (Cenozoic) volcanic
rocks that dominate the stratigraphy.
The region that extends from the Shan Plateau of
Myanmar and northern Thailand through Laos into
the Lanping-Simao fold belt was elevated at the
beginning of the Cenozoic (Hall & Morley 2004).
This elevation is attributed to a ‘diffuse [and]
poorly defined orogenic event’ by Upton (1999)
and Hall & Morley (2004). Apatite Fission Track
(AFT) studies in Thailand and Laos indicate slow
cooling between 90 and 45 Ma (Racey et al. 1997;
Upton 1999), and in NW Thailand Upton (1999)
interprets ‘gentle’ cooling between 70 and 50 Ma,
with modelled exhumation rates of 0.048–
0.083 km/Ma. Upton (1999) suggests that exhumation in NW Thailand was driven by minor (c.
600 + 200 m) ‘tectonic’ uplift that ‘started a cycle
of erosional denudation driven by isostatic
rebound’ sufficient to generate the observed levels
of denudation. Along the western margin of the
Khorat Plateau in eastern Thailand, 2.3–4.4 km of
Jurassic –Cretaceous overburden is estimated to
have been removed since c. 65 Ma, and 2– 6 km
was removed during the Palaeogene in parts of
western Thailand (Hall & Morley 2004 and references therein). Carter et al. (2000) interpret a
common uninterrupted (slow) (c. 1–1.5 8C/Ma)
cooling history in eastern Vietnam between 61 and
48 Ma based on AFT analyses with associated
denudation of 1.4–2 km. K –Ar dates and ZFT
ages from the Malay Peninsula also indicate a
local increase in cooling rate in the Late Cretaceous
(e.g. Krähenbuhl 1991).
Rocks beneath the unconformity
Fig. 7. The SE Asia Regional Unconformity from
Silangkai, West Sumatra. Palaeogene sandstones
unconformably overlie the Kambayau Granite (not dated
but granites in the same area are Permian to Early
Triassic) – the base of the Omblin Basin.
Continental red beds of the Upper Jurassic –Lower
Cretaceous Khorat Group and lateral equivalents
(Racey 2009) are exposed over large areas of
eastern Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and parts of
Vietnam, southern Thailand, and Peninsular
Malaysia (Racey 2009; Fig. 9), and are relatively
undeformed (Harbury et al. 1990). These are predominantly fluvial, alluvial and lacustrine facies with
lagoonal sandstones, mudstones and limestones
also present (Racey & Goodall 2009) (Fig. 8c, d).
Causes of different styles of basin evolution for
the Upper Jurassic –Lower Cretaceous red beds in
the region are generally poorly understood (Racey
2009). The Khorat Group in NE Thailand is
SUBSIDENCE AND UPLIFT IN SE ASIA
45
Fig. 8. (a) & (b) are Eocene siliciclastic sedimentary rocks that lie immediately above the SE Asia Regional
Unconformity (a) Upper Eocene quartz-rich sandstones of the Bayah Formation, West Java – the lower sequence
comprises overbank mudstones and crevasse-splay sandstones; the upper sequence is a massive channel sand body. (b)
Sequence of conglomerates and conglomeratic sandstones of the basal member, Tanjung Formation, Barito Basin, SE
Borneo. A small weathered granitic outcrop (basement) lies immediately to the right, out of shot, of the section. (c) & (d)
are Mesozoic alluvial and fluvial red bed sedimentary rocks that lie beneath the unconformity over large parts of the
region and were deposited in the DTL. (c) fluvial and alluvial pebbly sandstones from the Khorat Group, NE Thailand
and (d) from the Tembling Group, Malay Peninsula. Note the similarity in lithological character between the Mesozoic
and Cenozoic sequences.
46
B. CLEMENTS ET AL.
Cretaceous (Harbury et al. 1990). Upper Jurassic –
Lower Cretaceous red bed sequences typically
unconformably overlie older, more intensely deformed metasedimentary rocks (Gobbett & Hutchison
1973; Harbury et al. 1990).
In the south between Java, Sumatra and Borneo,
basement has been penetrated by offshore drilling.
The most abundant lithologies are granitic rocks
and low-grade metasedimentary rocks, with
gneiss, quartz diorite, diorite, and mafic and silicic
rocks occurring locally (Hamilton 1979). K –Ar
ages from this area reported by Hamilton (1979)
are predominantly Cretaceous. Lower Cretaceous
unmetamorphosed limestones lie beneath the
unconformity in one area north of West Java
(Hamilton 1979).
Testing the hypothesis: an unconformity
due to dynamic topography
Fig. 9. The extent of Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous
red beds in Indochina and the Thai–Malay Peninsula.
These sequences show remarkable lateral continuity and
there is little evidence of major faulting controlling
deposition – all consistent with deposition in a DTL.
commonly interpreted to have been deposited in a
thermal sag basin (e.g. Cooper et al. 1989) following
Late Triassic extension and orogenic collapse of the
Early Triassic Indosinian orogen. Others suggest a
foreland basin setting (e.g. Lovatt-Smith et al.
1996; Racey 2009) that formed in front of a Jurassic
orogenic belt that was situated to the north or NE.
Racey (2009) draws attention to the lateral continuity of the Khorat Group stating that the deposits are
of ‘broad lateral extent [and of] relatively uniform
thickness’. Lovatt-Smith et al. (1996) note that on
seismic data there is little evidence for faultcontrolled accommodation during deposition and
that the Khorat Group formations have a mainly
‘layercake’ appearance. Gentle folding of Mesozoic
strata in the Malay Peninsula has been interpreted
as evidence for a phase of uplift in the mid –Late
As highlighted above, there is no evidence for
extensive crustal shortening or orogenesis in the
early Late Cretaceous across much of Sundaland.
Throughout the region there are older (Palaeozoic?)
rocks that are, in places, highly deformed and of
medium to high metamorphic grade (e.g. the
Malay Peninsula; Harbury et al. 1990). However,
these rocks are commonly overlain by relatively
undeformed and unmetamorphosed sedimentary
rocks of Jurassic and Early Cretaceous age and
must therefore represent older regional tectonic
events.
There is little evidence for the existence of belts
of exhumed (high-grade metamorphic) rocks that
might be expected had there been major Late
Cretaceous –Paleocene orogenesis and subsequent
uplift throughout the region. There is some evidence
for crustal shortening at the Sundaland margins
during the Late Cretaceous (e.g. the Meratus Mountains, SW Borneo; western Sumatra – discussed
above) and this is interpreted as the result of collision, but this deformation did not extend into the
Sundaland interior for any considerable distance.
Significant deformation (thrusting) at the Sundaland
margin is reported by Clements et al. (2009) to
affect Neogene rocks in Java, but this deformation
also cannot be traced very far northward away
from the margin.
We speculate that in the Late Jurassic and Early
Cretaceous there was an extensive and broadly
low-lying region dominated by fluvial and alluvial
sedimentation (e.g. the Khorat Group and lateral
equivalents; Racey 2009) with limestones developing at the continental margins (e.g. limestones in
part of the NW Java Sea; Hamilton 1979) and
perhaps other strata since removed. This setting is
consistent with that expected for a DTL maintained
SUBSIDENCE AND UPLIFT IN SE ASIA
by subduction through the Late Jurassic and Early
Cretaceous and filled by Upper Jurassic and Lower
Cretaceous shallow marine and terrestrial strata.
Regional exhumation data are all consistent
with gradual (slow?), long-wavelength uplift
between c. 85 and 45 Ma. It is clear that previous
studies consider this uplift enigmatic, concluding,
for example, that the event was ‘poorly defined’
(Dunning et al. 1995) or ‘diffuse’ (Hall & Morley
2004). The estimated c. 600 + 200 m of ‘tectonic’
uplift required to positively feedback and drive
further uplift and denudation reported by Racey
et al. (1997) in western Thailand is comparable to
that generated by dynamic topography above a
subducting slab (e.g. Burgess & Moresi 1999).
Sundaland crust was probably thin, hot and weak
as a consequence of prolonged subduction beneath
the region during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous (see discussion by Hyndman et al. 2005)
precluding major crustal up-warping. The unconformity cannot be a consequence of intra-plate stresses
alone given its extent, and the extreme heterogeneous character of the Sundaland continental
region (Hall 2011), which would only serve to
dramatically reduce the wavelength of irregular
lithospheric folding (Dombrádi et al. 2010). Importantly, the thickness of the crust is unlikely to influence dynamic topography, which is driven by
mantle processes transmitting stresses to the base
of the lithosphere. Of critical importance however
is the ability to distinguish subsidence due to
stretching from subsidence due to dynamic topography; something that has proven problematical in
Cenozoic studies of the region (e.g. Wheeler &
White 2000).
Eustatic sea level fall from the early Late Cretaceous through Palaeogene could also have contributed to unconformity development. However,
pre-Neogene eustatic history is essentially
unknown, and eustatic models predicting Cretaceous
to Palaeogene eustatic change differ significantly,
even regarding long-term changes. For example,
Miller et al. (2005) show a eustatic curve derived
from backstripping of strata on the New Jersey
coastal plain. Their curve features an approximately
constant eustatic sea level from Cenomanian through
Maastrichtian time, followed by a c. 30 m rise into
the Early Eocene, and then a fall of about 60 m into
the Oligocene. This differs substantially from the
Haq et al. (1987) curve which shows a long term
fall of c. 50 m from the Cenomanian to Maastrichtian, possibly because the Haq curve is based in
part on stratigraphic studies of SE Asia, although
the method and data used in derivation of the Haq
curve has always been rather obscure. Further work
is required to evaluate and understand the impact of
these possible eustatic histories in SE Asia although
clearly the impact of subduction-driven subsidence
47
and uplift means that such regions are not as stable
as has previously been assumed and their suitability
for inclusion in studies that assess eustatic sea level
may be problematical at best.
At c. 85 Ma collisions terminated subduction
beneath Sundaland at the Sumatra–Java– Borneo
margin and possibly in northern Borneo at
c. 80 Ma. The termination of subduction in a zone
surrounding much of continental SE Asia had a
profound effect on the region. The detachment of
Tethyan oceanic lithosphere followed by its slow
descent into the mantle drove regional uplift and
reversed a Late Jurassic –Early Cretaceous DTL
(Fig. 10). This process of slow mantle-driven uplift
was accentuated by denudation and associated isostatic rebound further driving regional uplift.
Fig. 10. Schematic diagram illustrating how dynamic
topography forms above subducting slabs due to stresses
generated at the base of the lithosphere by the slabs
negative mass anomaly in the mantle. (a) Predicted
dynamic topography (Modified from Burgess & Moresi
1999) (note that the vertical scale from this profile is
different to that of parts b, c and d). (b) Dynamic
topography above a subducting slab at the Sundaland
margin and, (c) above facing subduction systems for
example, southern Sundaland at c. 100 Ma (as in Fig. 4).
(d) Collision and detachment of oceanic lithosphere
would drive regional uplift creating an unconformity
similar to the Late Cretaceous– Paleocene SE Asia
Regional Unconformity. Note that in places there may
still be a DTL stratigraphic sequence preserved as is the
case in SE Asia, particularly in the northern parts of
Sundaland.
48
B. CLEMENTS ET AL.
We suggest that renewed deposition above the
unconformity was in part related to the onset of subduction at c. 45 Ma (Hall 2009). Although the style
of sedimentation during the Eocene and Oligocene
(clearly localized in fault-controlled basins) was
markedly different to that during the Jurassic and
Early Cretaceous (laterally continuous and not
fault controlled), the onset of sedimentary basin formation coincided with the renewal of subduction.
The resumption of subduction at this time clearly
impacted the Sundaland region but it also imposed
some other tectonic mechanism on the area that
may already have been hot and weak (Hall &
Morley 2004; Hyndman et al. 2005). The apparent
younging of Cenozoic basins northward (Fig. 1),
although poorly constrained, seems to broadly
coincide with the mapped extent of sedimentary
rocks (Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous
Khorat Group and lateral equivalents) deposited in
the DTL (Figs 1 & 9). These observations could
be explained by a subduction-driven model, such
as that presented here, in so far as the areas expected
to be affected most by subduction-related dynamic
subsidence and uplift are those in the south of the
region, where opposing subduction systems were
closest. Furthermore, is there a relationship
between the extent of DTL sediments (or where
all DTL sediments have been removed) and the
location of Cenozoic basins in the region? Such
questions are beyond the scope of this paper but
may be the focus of future research concerning the
impact of subduction on the region as well as
better understanding the distribution of Cenozoic
basins.
Conclusions
The SE Asia Regional Unconformity is observed
across Sundaland with an area of c. 5 600 000 km2
(greater than the area of the Western United
States) and represents c. 40 Ma of missing time.
Uplift was unlikely to have been driven solely by
collision tectonics. Vertical displacement of Sundaland continental lithosphere by reversal of a slabrelated dynamic topographic low explains the
spatial extent of the unconformity, the regional
geology both above and below the unconformity,
regional exhumation data and the duration of apparent uplift. Furthermore, we suggest that the onset of
subduction at c. 45 Ma resulted in renewed subsidence and the development of the numerous petroliferous sedimentary basins that are now present
throughout the region. This is the first attempt at
assessing the extent of the SE Asia Regional Unconformity as well as providing a plausible explanation
for its development; more detailed modelling may
test these suggestions.
We are grateful to the consortium of oil companies who
have supported the SE Asia Research Group for many
years. We thank Anthony Barber, Duncan Witts, Andrew
Racey and Inga Sevastjanova for permissions to use photographs in Figures 5e, f and 7; Figure 8b– d respectively.
Clare White, Ian Watkinson, Cesar Witt and Anthony
Barber are thanked for helpful comments on various versions of the manuscript. We also thank Christopher F.
Elders and Jason R. Ali for their constructive and
supportive reviews.
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