Late Cenozoic geodynamic evolution of eastern Indonesia

www.elsevier.com/locate/tecto

Tectonophysics 404

Late Cenozoic geodynamic evolution of eastern Indonesia

Florent Hinschbergera,*, Jacques-Andre Malodb, Jean-Pierre Rehaultb,

Michel Villeneuvec, Jean-Yves Royerb, Safri Burhanuddind

aUPRES EA 2100, Laboratoire GeEAC, Universite Francois Rabelais, Faculte de Sciences et Techniques, Parc de Grandmont,

37200 Tours, FrancebUMR 6538 bDomaines oceaniquesQ, I.U.E.M., Technopole Brest-Iroise, 29280 Plouzane, France

cFRE CNRS 2761, Universite de Provence, case 67, 3 Place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille, FrancedUniversitas Hasanuddin, Ujung Pandang, Indonesia

Received 29 November 2004; received in revised form 3 May 2005; accepted 9 May 2005

Available online 15 June 2005

Abstract

This paper presents an internally and globally consistent model of plate evolution in eastern Indonesia from Middle Miocene

to Present time. It is centered on the Banda Sea region located in the triple junction area between the Pacific–Philippine,

Australia and South–East Asia plates. The geological and geophysical data available from Indonesia were until recently

insufficient to define a unique plate tectonic model. In this paper, the new data taken into account clearly restrict the possible

interpretations. Owing to a great number of geological, geophysical and geochemical studies, the major plate boundaries (the

Sunda–Banda subduction zone to the south, the Tarera–Aiduna Fault zone and the Seram Thrust to the east, and the Sorong

Fault zone and Molucca Sea collision zone to the north) are now clearly identified. The age of the major tectonic structures is

also better known. Geodetic measurements well constrain the Present time plate kinematics. We also consider the deformation

history within eastern Indonesia, where numerous short-lived microplates and their related microcontinents successively

accreted to the Asiatic margin. Moreover, magnetic anomalies identification of the North and South Banda Sea basins allows

a precise kinematic reconstruction of the back-arc opening. We used the Plates software to test the coherency of our model,

presented as a series of 4 plate reconstruction maps from 13 Ma to the present. Finally, the origin of oceanic domains restored

by our reconstruction is discussed.

D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Eastern Indonesia; Banda Sea; Back-arc basin; Kinematics; Plate tectonics

0040-1951/$ - see front matter D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2005.05.005

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 247367005; fax: +33

247367090.

E-mail address: [email protected]

(F. Hinschberger).

1. Introduction

Eastern Indonesia is located in a convergent zone

between three major plates and their dependances: the

South East Asia, Pacific–Philippine Sea and Austra-

lian plates (Fig. 1). It forms a complex pattern of plate

(2005) 91–118

Sang

ihe

sub

duct

io

75 km/Ma

Java

Borneo

Indian Ocean

15°S

10°N

5°N

0°

5°S

10°S

105°E 135°E130°E125°E120°E115°E110°E 140°E

0

km

500400300200100

Scale at Equator

Lombok

Basin

Australia

Australian platformTim

or

Banda subduction (fossil)

Sunda subduction

Bird's

Head

TAFZ

Irian

Jaya

Sumba

Lom

bok

Bal

i

Java Trench

Java Sea

South China Sea

Celebes

Basin

Timor Trough

Weber

Trough

Seram subductionSeramBuru

SBSB

NBSB

Banda Ridges

TS

BSMF

PKF

Mak

assa

rSt

rait

Sulu S

ea

Mindanao

NST

Mol

ucca

Sea

HS

Halmahera

Caroline Basin

New Guinea Trench

90 km/Ma

West Philippine

Basin

SFZ

PacificOcean

Sulu Arc

ST

NT

CT

PhilippineTrench

Flores Basin

Flores

Sulawesi

ATWT

Active volcanoes

1 2

Subduction zone

1: active

2: inactive

Back-arc

thrusting Basin

(<4000 m)

Major strike-slip

fault (dotted line

when hypthetical)

Sumbawa

We Tanim

bar

AUS

Plates:

SEA(South-East

Asia)

PAC + PSP

+ CAR

Eastern Indonesia

triple junction

area

TominiGulf

LFZ

Thrust fault

"SEA"SUNDA

20 km/Ma

PSP

PAC

CAR

AUS

PF

Z

leading edge of the

Australian continent

NGTB

Aru

Kai

Fig. 1. Map of the eastern Indonesian region showing the major tectonic structures and basins. The motions of Australian (AUS) and Pacific

(PAC)–Caroline (CAR)–Philippine Sea (PSP) plates are from the Nuvel 1 model (DeMets et al., 1990, 1994). Present motion of the SEA plate

(or Sunda Block) is from GPS data (Wilson et al., 1998; Rangin et al., 1999a). The motions of plates are indicated with respect to Eurasia.

Bathymetric data are from Hinschberger et al. (2003) for the 4000 m contour line of the Banda Sea basins and Weber Trough. Other bathymetric

data are from GEBCO. The leading edge of the Australian continent is from Van Bergen et al. (1993). Black rectangle indicates the Banda Sea

region (Fig. 4). Toponymy: AT: Alor back-arc thrust; BS: Banggai–Sula; CT: Cotabato Trench; HS: Halmahera subduction; LFZ: lowland fault

zone; MF: Matano Fault; NBSB: North Banda Sea Basin; NGTB: New Guinea thrust belt; NST: North Sulawesi Trench; NT: Negros Trench;

PFZ: Philippine Fault zone; PKF: Palu Koro Fault; SBSB: South Banda Sea Basin; SFZ: Sorong Fault zone; ST: Sulu Trench; TAFZ: Tarera

Aiduna Fault zone; TS: Tolo subduction; We: Wetar; and WT: Wetar back-arc thrust.

F. Hinschberger et al. / Tectonophysics 404 (2005) 91–11892

boundaries, active subduction and collision zones,

Neogene mountain belts and prominent strike–slip

zones (Van Bemmelen, 1949; Hamilton, 1979; Aud-

ley-Charles et al., 1988). The Banda Sea basins locat-

ed in a central position within eastern Indonesia

opened as back-arc or intra-arc basins relatively to

the Banda subduction zone (Rehault et al., 1994;

Honthaas et al., 1998; Hinschberger et al., 2000,

2001; Fig. 1). The active spreading stopped during

Middle Pliocene time in response to the collision

between the Australian continent and the Banda Arc,

dated at about 3 Ma, when the leading edge of the

Australian continental crust entered the Timor Trough

(Carter et al., 1976; Hamilton, 1979; Bowin et al.,

F. Hinschberger et al. / Tectonophysics 404 (2005) 91–118 93

1980; Abbott and Chamalaun, 1981; Audley-Charles

et al., 1988; Richardson and Blundell, 1996).

Most of geodynamic and kinematic reconstruction

models proposed for eastern Indonesia are given at a

regional scale. General patterns of plate motions are

suggested, but no details are given for the eastern

Indonesian region (Jolivet et al., 1989; Lee and Law-

ver, 1995; Hall, 1996, 2002). Other models refering to

eastern Indonesia are not based on a quantitative

approach of plate motions (Hamilton, 1979; Silver et

al., 1985) or do not consider the Late Neogene age of

the Banda Sea basins (Charlton, 1986; De Smet, 1989;

Rangin et al., 1990; Daly et al., 1991; Linthout et al.,

1997). Lastly, the models presented by Nishimura and

Suparka (1990) and more recently by Villeneuve et al.

(1998), Charlton (2000) and Pubellier et al. (2003b)

take into account the Neogene age of Banda Sea

basins, without a precise geometry for their opening.

The aim of this paper is to present a new kinematic

model of eastern Indonesia based on a synthesis of

geophysical, geological and geochemical studies.

Since the amount of geological literature is daunting,

we have not cited all the references used in this

synthesis. An overview of the bibliography can be

found in Hamilton (1979), Bowin et al. (1980), Hall

(1996) and Charlton (2000). We used the software

Plates, which allows for both a quantitative and geo-

metric plate tectonic modelling. New geological and

geophysical data (namely magnetic anomalies) sup-

port an age of 12.5 to 7 Ma and 6.5 to 3.5 Ma,

respectively, for the NW–SE opening of the North

and South Banda Basins (Rehault et al., 1994; Hon-

thaas et al., 1998; Hinschberger, 2000; Hinschberger

et al., 2000, 2001; Figs. 1 and 2). These basins are

presently in an early stage of closure. Thus, the east-

ern Indonesian region is characterized by the succes-

sive opening of small short-lived basins, younger and

younger from NW to SE, around which dispersed and

dismembered microcontinents are found (Villeneuve

et al., 1998).

These new constraints come in addition to the

known motions of major plates, geodetic measure-

ments, mapping of active and inactive tectonic fea-

tures, seismological characterization of Benioff zones,

focal mechanisms of earthquakes and paleomagnetic

results. The whole data set leads to the local plate

kinematics from Middle Miocene to Present time. We

present the methodology used for the reconstructions

before describing the constraints on the model. We

finally present the model as a series of 4 plate recon-

struction maps at 13, 9, 6.5 and 3.5 Ma.

2. Methodology

Throughout this work we used the computer car-

tographic system TPlatesr (4.1 version) developed by

the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics. This

software allows to move plates on a spherical earth, in

a quantitative and interactive approach. We applied

the general rules of plate tectonics which assume the

plates to be rigid. The changes in relative plate posi-

tions are accompanied by creation and/or destruction

of crust along plate boundaries. All the considered

plates rotate around moving Euler poles (finite rota-

tion poles) under geometrically controlled conditions.

The Plates software ensures that any given regional

plate tectonic model is compatible with global plate

tectonics at any particular time interval. We must bear

in mind that any plate is interacting with adjacent

plates: any change in the orientation and direction of

one plate may affect the orientation, rate of motion, or

direction of neighbouring plates.

We either applied the rules of plate tectonics to

the motions of microplates (also called bblocksQ by

many authors), which are treated as small rigid units,

except for those that have suffered important defor-

mation. For Bock et al. (2003), the crustal blocks in

the eastern Indonesian region are all experiencing

significant internal deformation and, in this respect,

crustal motion does not fit the microplate tectonics

model. However, the microplates used in our model

were precisely identified using a large span of geo-

logical and geophysical data and internal deforma-

tion for each of them may be minor. We then

consider about forty microplates of various dimen-

sions, the smallest of them measuring no more than

80 km in its maximal length (Rama Ridge microplate

in the Banda Ridges). No smaller microplates were

identified since their thickness would be larger than

their width and plate tectonics rules could not be

applied to them. The major tectonic microplates

considered in this study are shown in their present-

day locations in Fig. 2.

All the derived finite rotation poles are kept in a

rotation file, which presents a tree-like structure with

AUS(75 km/Ma)

PSP

SEA

0 100 200

km300 400 500

Scale at Equator

0°

Bird'sHead

Australia

Australianplatform

Kalimantan

Basins

Volcanic arc

1

22

Microcontinentin the Banda Searegion

Bird's Headmicrocontinent(partly subducted)

Australiancontinent(partly subducted)

Terranes:

1: SEA Plate2: North Sulawesi3: Sangihe volcanic arc and Celebes Basin4: Molucca Basin5: Halmahera + Bacan6: Banggai-Sula7: NE Sulawesi8: East Sulawesi9: SE Sulawesi + Muna + Buton10: Tukang Besi platform11: West Sinta Ridge12: East Sinta Ridge

45

5

67

88

9

910

13: West Rama Ridge14: East Rama Ridge15: NE Lucipara Ridge16: Pisang Ridge17: Obi island18: West Sulawesi19: NBSB (northern part)20: NBSB (southern part)21: Buru island22: West Seram23: East Seram24: West Irian Jaya25: North Bird's Head and Waigeo island26: Gorong block27: Kai Kecil block

28: Tanimbar block29: Babar block30: East Timor31: West Timor and Roti32: North Wetar Basin and NEC Ridge33: South Wetar Basin34: North Damar Basin and Lucipara Ridge35: South Damar Basin and Banda volcanic arc36: Wetar island37: Sumba island38: Sunda volcanic arc39: Kai Besar island40: Australian Plate

1112

13 14 15

17

19

20

2122 23

24

2424

2525

26

27

28

2930

31

32

34

3533

37

3838

39

40

40

40

3

36

IndianOcean

38

120°E

34

1

An 20

An 19

An 18

Tomini Gulfextension

16

18

(90 km/Ma)



relative rotations between each pair of plates. For

example, in our model the microplate bNorthernarm of SulawesiQ moves with respect to the microplate

bWestern SulawesiQ (Plates number 2 and 18 in Fig.

2), which then moves with respect to the Sunda shelf

(also called bSundalandQ or bSEA PlateQ). On top of

the Trotation treer we find a fixed reference, which in

this study will be referred to as the African hot spots.

In our reconstruction maps, all the plates are recon-

structed with respect to Sunda shelf, which is fixed for

every map (Figs. 5–9). The advantage of Sunda shelf

as fixed frame is that it may not have moved signif-

icantly with respect to eastern Asia and a global

framework during Neogene time (Lee and Lawver,

1995). The rotation file is then ready to import into the

reconstruction software for calculating the recon-

structed positions of individual tectonic microplates

in the past. These paleo-positions are plotted using the

stereographic projection to create different paleo-tec-

tonic maps (Figs. 5–9).

3. Major plates boundaries and present kinematics

The evolution and relative motions of the micro-

plates in eastern Indonesia, particularly in the Banda

Sea region (Fig. 1), are constrained by those of the

larger plates, i.e. the Eurasian, Pacific, Philippine Sea

and Australian plates, whose kinematics is presently

well known for the Neogene time and more especially

for the recent period (NUVEL 1 model, DeMets et al.,

1990, 1994). Their present-day motions are well con-

strained by GPS data (Tregoning et al., 1994; Genrich

et al., 1996; Kreemer et al., 2000; Bock et al., 2003)

and slip vector studies (McCaffrey, 1992, 1996). We

also consider in our model the synthesis of Royer and

Chang (1991) and Royer et al. (1997) for the Neogene

motion of the Australian Plate and Cande et al. (1995)

for the one of the Pacific Plate. We describe below the

present kinematics and the major plate boundaries in

the eastern Indonesian region. The detailed motions of

microplates will be presented in the 4th Section of this

study.

Fig. 2. Map of the plates, microplates and terrane units used in the Plates

structures are indicated (same symbols as in Fig. 1). For the clartity of the m

The magnetic lineations in the Celebes and Banda basins are also reported

respectively (see Fig. 4 for details).

3.1. The Australian Plate and the Sunda–Banda sub-

duction zone

To the south, the Australian Plate (AUS) is mov-

ing to the NNE at a rate of about 7.5 cm/yr with

respect to Eurasia since Early Eocene (Veevers,

1986; DeMets et al., 1990, 1994; Charlton, 2000). A

rather similar motion is calculated from the slip vec-

tors in the Sunda subduction zone (McCaffrey, 1992,

1996) and from geodetic measurements, which indi-

cate a N 14.98F0.58 E convergence of the Australian

Plate with respect to West Java at a rate of 63.3F0.4

mm/yr (site BAKO, Bock et al., 2003).

The northern limit of the Australian Plate consists

in an oceanic subduction zone west of Sumba Island:

the Sunda subduction (Fig. 1), which is older than 40

Ma south of Java from petrological and geochemical

data (Soeria-Atmadja et al., 1994). East of Sumba

Island the Australian continent has collided with the

Banda Arc since Middle Pliocene (Bowin et al., 1980;

Audley-Charles et al., 1988; Hartono, 1990; Richard-

son and Blundell, 1996; McCaffrey, 1996; Audley-

Charles, 2004). Before the collision, the Indian oce-

anic lithosphere was subducting northward beneath

the Banda Arc. The corresponding Wadati–Benioff

zone can be followed down to about 600 km north

of Timor (Fig. 3), indicating a continuity of the sub-

duction process for at least 11 Ma (Bowin et al.,

1980). This is in accordance with the age of the oldest

Banda volcanic arc rocks sampled on Wetar Island

and dated at 12 Ma (Abbott and Chamalaun, 1981).

Alternatively, tomographic sections seem to show a

1200 km long north-dipping slab below Timor and

Flores (Rangin et al., 1999b). These authors suggest

that the Banda subduction initiated at around 15 Ma,

at the time of the collision of the Sundaland active

margin with Australian continental crust fragments

(Rangin et al., 1999b).

3.2. The Pacific and Philippine Sea plates

During our time interval of interest (0–15 Ma) and

close to Banda Sea region, the motions of the Pacific,

software for reconstructions (for present time). The major tectonic

ap, all the boundaries of plates and microplates are not represented.

and are from Weissel (1980) and Hinschberger et al. (2000, 2001),

70-100 km100-200 km200-300 km

300-400 km400-500 km500-600 km

Earthquakes epicentres

Sulawesi

Irian Jaya

Timor

more than 600 km

KaiAru

BuruSeram

Banggai-Sula

0 100 200

km

Ban da subduction

(fossi

l)

Seram subduction

The symbols are related to the depthof the earthquakes:

130°E125°E

5°S

135°E

TAFZ

100 km200

300400

500

100 km200

300400500

Source of earthquakesdata:CNSS Catalog

Fig. 3. Wadati–Benioff zone location in the Banda Sea region. Approximate depth of the two seismic zones is represented by heavy lines

(dashed when uncertain). The limits of the Ambon and Banda volcanic arcs are indicated by dashed grey lines (respectively associated to the

Seram and Banda subduction zones).


Philippine Sea and Caroline plates (PAC, PSP and

CAR in Fig. 1) are quite similar: they are moving to

the WNW at a rate of about 9 cm/yr with respect to

Eurasia (Weissel and Anderson, 1978; Seno and Mar-

uyama, 1984; Huchon, 1986; DeMets et al., 1990,

1994; Seno et al., 1993; Hall et al., 1995; McCaffrey,

1996; Kreemer et al., 2000). The Philippine Sea Plate

is presently subducting westward at about 10 cm/yr in

the Philippine Trench (Fig. 1). This structure is prob-

ably recent (Pliocene), as inferred from tomographic

and seismological data and the absence of arc volca-

nism before 2.5 Ma (Hall, 1987; Sajona et al., 1993;

Lallemand et al., 1998; Rangin et al., 1999b). South of

the southern termination of the Philippine Trench,

PSP/Eurasia convergence is absorbed within the

Molucca Sea collision zone (Silver and Moore,

1978; McCaffrey, 1982).

The New Guinea fold-and-thrust belt (NGTB in

Fig. 1) marks the contact between the Pacific (Caro-

line) and Australian plates. The Cenozoic geodynamic

evolution of this region is not well known enough and

the ages and mechanisms of arc–continent collisions

(also called New Guinea orogen) are still controver-

sial. The southern part of New Guinea belongs to the

Australian continent, while in the northern part of the

island remnants of volcanic belts, continental slices

and ophiolitic fragments were amalgamated during

successive oblique collision phases between the Aus-

tralian Plate and Pacific volcanic arcs (Struckmeyer et

al., 1993; Monnier et al., 1999; Pubellier et al.,

2003a). The Pacific/Australia convergence has been

absorbed by N–S shortening inside the New Guinea

thrust belt (Abers and McCaffrey, 1988) and by the

southward subduction of the Pacific oceanic crust in


the New Guinea Trench (Fig. 1). However, this sub-

duction zone seems to be inactive in its western part,

as inferred from geodetic measurements (Puntodewo

et al., 1994) and seismological, seismic reflection and

imagery data (Milsom et al., 1992). The tomography

also suggests little Neogene subduction beneath west-

ern New Guinea, since no slab is imaged south of the

trench (Hall and Spakman, 2002). Moreover, no sub-

duction-related volcanic activity is identified in Irian

Jaya.

Since the Pacific/Australia convergence is strongly

oblique (N 708 E convergence at 11 cm/yr in Irian

Jaya, DeMets et al., 1994), a part of the convergence

is also absorbed by rapid strike–slip motion along

important left-lateral fault zones parallel to the New

Guinea thrust belt (Kreemer et al., 2000). The major

one is the Yapen–Sorong Fault zone (SFZ in Fig. 1),

extending E–W from northern Irian Jaya to Sulawesi

(Hamilton, 1979; Letouzey et al., 1983; Dow and

Sukamto, 1984; McCaffrey and Abers, 1991; Charl-

ton, 1996). The precise amount of strike–slip motion

along this fault is not known and estimates range in

the literature from a few hundreds of kilometres to

more than 1000 km. Its age is also poorly constrained:

it may have initiated from Oligocene to Middle Plio-

cene time (Lee and Lawver, 1995; Charlton, 1996;

Packham, 1996; Hall, 1996; Hall and Wilson, 2000).

The SFZ is still active in the north-eastern part of Irian

Jaya, where it is marked by major earthquakes. Focal

mechanism of earthquakes indicate 8 cm/yr of left-

lateral strike–slip motion (McCaffrey and Abers,

1991). Nevertheless, seismological and geodetic data

clearly demonstrate that SFZ is almost inactive in the

western part of Irian Jaya, so that it is not presently the

major boundary between the Australian and Pacific

plates (Puntodewo et al., 1994; Rangin et al., 1999a;

Bock et al., 2003). The latter has been transferred

southwards to the Tarera–Aiduna Fault zone south

of Bird’s Head (TAFZ in Fig. 1), making the Bird’s

Head microplate captured by the Pacific Plate (Hamil-

ton, 1979; McCaffrey and Abers, 1991; Linthout and

Helmers, 1994). This E–W structure extends from the

New Guinea thrust belt to the Seram subduction zone

(Jongsma et al., 1989). Major left-lateral motion on

TAFZ is revealed by the eastward bend of the Leng-

guru fold belt in its southern part and by focal

mechanisms of earthquakes (Abers and McCaffrey,

1988; McCaffrey and Abers, 1991; Pubellier and

Ego, 2002). Pubellier and Ego (2002) also identify

other structures in Irian Jaya, as the Paniai and Low-

land fault zones oriented N 608 E, that accommodate a

part of the Pacific/Australia motion. They finally con-

sider that the rapid westward escape of the Bird’s

Head block was allowed by the existence of the

Seram subduction (Fig. 1), which acted as a free

boundary. The age when strike–slip motion shifted

from SFZ to TAFZ is not precisely known. For Pub-

ellier and Ego (2002), the onset of the TAFZ is dated

at around 2 Ma, age of an acceleration of the west-

ward migration of the Bird’s Head when the tectonic

regime became more transtensional in west Irian Jaya.

In summary, the Pacific/PSP–Australia boundary is

a large zone of complex plate interaction where highly

oblique convergence is absorbed by N–S shortening

inside the NGTB and by rapid strike–slip motion

along important E–W and NE–SW left-lateral fault

zones (SFZ, TAFZ, Lowland fault zone. . .). These

fault zones may not have been active simultaneously,

but they have played a major role in the geodynamic

evolution of the region.

3.3. The SEA plate

The Eurasian position with respect to the hot spots

reference has not moved significantly since the Eo-

cene; however, the south-eastern part of the Eurasian

Plate is actually divided into several microplates which

were extruded eastwards or south-eastwards in re-

sponse to the India–Eurasia collision (Peltzer and Tap-

ponnier, 1988; Lee and Lawver, 1995). Among these

microplates, the SEA Plate (also called TSundalandr

or TSunda blockr; location in Fig. 1) includes the

Malay Peninsula, the Sunda shelf, Sumatra, Borneo

and Java. Since the possible extrusion process was

terminated in Middle Miocene (Peltzer and Tappon-

nier, 1988; Lee and Lawver, 1995), we do not consider

any motion of the Sunda block in our model. Lastly,

for the Present time, geodetic measurements and earth-

quakes slip vectors studies suggest that the Sunda

block does not belong to the Eurasian Plate and rotates

clockwise with respect to Eurasia (Wilson et al., 1998;

Rangin et al., 1999a; Chamot-Rooke and Le Pichon,

1999; Kreemer et al., 2000; Michel et al., 2001). The

ENEmotion induced by the rotation increases from 1.0

cm/yr in the south (i.e. Java) to no more than 2.0 cm/yr

in the north (Michel et al., 2001). If we allow this


rotation, we would expect minor convergence (about 1

cm/yr) at the boundary between the Sunda block and

the Banda Sea region, within the Makassar Strait,

where thrusting is observed (Calvert and Hall, 2003).

Alternatively, Bock et al. (2003) calculate from GPS

data that the Sunda block is moving 6F3 mm/yr SE

relative to Eurasia. Since there is still disagreement

about the motion of the Sunda block inferred from

geodetic data and because the onset of this motion is

not constrained in age, we decided to keep the Sunda

block fixed with respect to Eurasia for the last 13

millions years in our model.

We conclude from this overview of plates kinemat-

ics in the eastern Indonesian region that the major

plates are converging at a rather high rate, explaining

the complex tectonic pattern and the instability of

their boundaries. In the intersection between the Aus-

tralian Plate to the south, the Pacific and Philippine

Sea plates to the north and the SEA Plate to the west

lies the Banda Sea region (Fig. 1). This triple junction

area exhibits a mosaic of microplates with a contro-

versial tectonic evolution. However, their present ki-

nematics is now quite well defined, particularly owing

to GPS studies. Further, the geodynamical history,

including the spreading in the Banda Sea basins,

successive collisions and continental accretion, is

now better understood. The following section focus

on the geodynamical Neogene evolution of eastern

Indonesia.

4. Eastern Indonesia: geodynamical constraints for

a kinematic model

First, we present the successive plates and micro-

plates boundaries in the triple junction area and the

deformation history within eastern Indonesia. Then,

we consider the Banda Sea oceanic basins, which are

located at a key position for the geodynamic knowl-

edge of the region. A particular attention is finally

granted to the microcontinents surrounding the Banda

Sea region.

4.1. Time and space complexity of a triple junction

4.1.1. The Banda Arc collision

Geophysical, geological and geochemical data

show that about 150–250 km of Australian continental

lithosphere has been subducted at the Timor–Tanim-

bar Trough (Von der Borch, 1979; Bowin et al., 1980;

McCaffrey, 1988; Van Bergen et al., 1993; Richardson

and Blundell, 1996; Petkovic et al., 2000; Vroon et al.,

2001; Elburg et al., 2004; Fig. 1). For Packham

(1996), however, up to 400 km of continental litho-

sphere would have been subducted in the easternmost

part of the Banda subduction zone. Westwards, in the

area of Timor, a promontory of the Australian Plate

has collided with the Banda Arc (Fig. 1), explaining

the pronounced effects of the collision in this region

and the increasing contribution of continental material

to volcanism (Eva et al., 1988; Van Bergen et al.,

1993; Simandjuntak and Barber, 1996; Vroon et al.,

2001). On the contrary, the arc–continent collision is

just beginning in the Sumba area (Bowin et al., 1980).

Since 0.5–1 Ma, the subduction of the Australian

shelf east of Sumba has almost ceased (Richardson

and Blundell, 1996; Hughes et al., 1996). The lack of

shallow-depth earthquakes in the area north of Timor

(Fig. 3) could be due to the detachment of the sub-

ducting oceanic slab from the more buoyant continen-

tal crust close to the ocean–continent transition,

inducing a rebound of the underthrusted continental

margin (McCaffrey et al., 1985; Charlton, 1991, 1997;

Tandon et al., 2000). Elburg et al. (2004) also interpret

the Pb isotope signatures north of Timor as the result

of a slab detachment. Since the cessation of subduc-

tion at the Timor Trough, the continuing northward

motion of the Australian Plate is absorbed by intra-arc

shortening and the onset of the Wetar and Alor back-

arc thrusts during Pleistocene time (Silver et al.,

1983b; McCaffrey, 1988, 1996; Breen et al., 1989;

Snyder et al., 1996b; Figs. 1 and 4). Lastly, GPS

measurements and seismic moments earthquakes

studies show that the southern arc and back-arc

Banda area are presently moving northwards with

respect to Eurasia at a rate very similar to Australia,

indicating they have been almost accreted to the Aus-

tralian Plate as a final result of the Pliocene arc–

continent collision (McCaffrey, 1988; Genrich et al.,

1996; Walpersdorf et al., 1998b; Rangin et al., 1999a;

Kreemer et al., 2000; Bock et al., 2003).

4.1.2. The Seram subduction

The Seram subduction zone (Fig. 1) is presently

the major boundary between the westward migrating

Bird’s Head microplate (belonging to the PAC–PSP–

125°E 135°E

5°S

130°E

0 100 200

km

Sulawesi

SeramBuru

Irian Jaya

Timor

WeberTrough

3r

3r

3n

3n

5Ar

4Ar

5n5r

4r4Ar5n5r

4r

North BandaSea Basin12 -

7 Ma

6,5 -3,5 Ma

Fossil spreadingcentre (dashed whenuncertain)

3 - 0,5Ma

Aru

Flores

Wetar Tanimbar

South Banda Sea Basin3An

Subduction zone (1) active (2) inactive

1

2

Banda subduction

Seram subduction

Obi Misool

TBPButon

Tolo

thru

st

Alor

GA

FZ

Back-arc thrusting

Alor - Wet ar

b ack-thrust

HFEast Sinta

West SintaRam

aLucip

ara

Banda Ridges

NEC volcanic arc

WBFZ

FloresBasin

North BuruBasin

South BuruBasin

MatanoFault

Banggai-Sula

North Sula Sorong Faul

(Wetar Basin) (Damar Basin)

Banda volcanic arcBanda vo

lcani

car

c

Lucipara

Basin

Amb on volcanicarc

Stike-slip fault

Banda basinstransform fault

Volcanic arc

Basins (depth < 4000m)

AruBasin

Banda basinsmagnetic lineations 6,5 -

3,5 Ma

Direction and ageof Banda basinsopening

South Sula Sorong Fault

LawanopoFault

TAFZ

SFZ

Australianplatform

Kai

Lucipara volcanic arc

Pisang

Fig. 4. Map of the Banda Sea region showing the Banda Sea magnetic lineations, the Banda Ridges and the major tectonic features. From the

bathymetric map of Hinschberger et al. (2003), a 4000-m depth line is extracted. Magnetic lineations in the Banda Sea basins are from

Hinschberger et al. (2000, 2001). Toponymy: GAFZ: Gunung Api fracture zone; HF: Hamilton Fault; SFZ: Sorong Fault zone; TAFZ: Tarera–

Aiduna Fault zone; TBP: Tukang Besi platform; and WBFZ: West Buru fracture zone.


CAR domain) and the northward moving Banda back-

arc area (recently accreted to the Australian Plate). It

is either interpreted as a foredeep produced in re-

sponse to loading by the developing fold and thrust

belt of Seram (Pairault et al., 2003), or as the eastern

termination of the E–W Banda subduction, bent into

its present position by a 1808 anticlockwise rotation

resulting from the combination of northward move-

ment of Australia and the westward movement of the

Pacific (Katili, 1975; Haile, 1978; Charlton et al.,

1991; Milsom et al., 1996; Widiyantoro and van der

Hilst, 1997). However, seismological data clearly

show two distinct Wadati–Benioff zones associated,

respectively, to the Banda and Seram subductions, at

least for shallow and intermediate depth (Cardwell

and Isacks, 1978; Eva et al., 1988; McCaffrey,

1988; Puspito and Shimazaki, 1995; Milsom, 2001;

Das, 2004; Fig. 3). The two subduction zones are

connected by the way of the TAFZ, which then

plays the role of a trench-to-trench transform fault

(Figs. 1 and 3). The existence of two distinct subduc-

tion zones is also evidenced by petrological and geo-


chemical studies from the Plio–Quaternary volcanic

arc south of Seram, i.e. the Ambon Arc (Honthaas et

al., 1999; Fig. 3). The Ambon volcanic arc has been

active since 5 Ma (Honthaas et al., 1999), suggesting

that the Seram subduction initiated during Late Mio-

cene time. The slab reaches a depth of about 500 km

(Fig. 3), which corresponds to an approximate length

of 700 km calculated in the direction of plate conver-

gence. Considering that Seram was almost a part of

the Australian Plate for the last 1 Ma (approximate

age of the accretion of the Banda back-arc area to the

Australian Plate), 7 Ma of subduction are required to

reach the 500 km depth. This implies that the time

when the Bird’s Head microplate began to move

westwards with the Philippine Sea Plate is much

more older than the 2 Ma suggested by Pubellier

and Ego (2002). Finally, the Irian Jaya continental

crust is presently subducting all along the Seram

Trough and arc–continent collision is now occurring

in Seram (Hamilton, 1979; Bowin et al., 1980; Aud-

ley-Charles et al., 1988). Petrological and geochemi-

cal data suggest that the continental lithosphere

subducted no more than 100 km depth below Seram

(Honthaas et al., 1999).

4.1.3. The Molucca Sea

In the northern part of eastern Indonesia lies the

boundary between the PSP and SEA plates. The

convergence between these two plates reaches about

10 cm/yr; however, deformations may be distributed

over a large area extending from Sulawesi to Mind-

anao (Fig. 1) and the present subduction zone

corresponding to the Philippine Trench may absorb

no more than 50% of the total convergence (Lalle-

mand et al., 1998).

South of the southern termination of the Philippine

Trench, the Molucca Sea Plate is subducting both to

the east in the Halmahera subduction zone and to the

west in the Sangihe subduction zone (Fig. 1), so that

its oceanic domain has almost totally disappeared.

Tomographic data show that the Sangihe slab reaches

a depth of about 1500 km into the lower mantle,

attesting it is at least Oligocene in age (Widiyantoro

and van der Hilst, 1997; Rangin et al., 1999b). Unlike

the Sangihe subduction, the Halmahera subduction

appeared recently, during the Late Miocene (Lalle-

mand et al., 1998) or the Early Pliocene (Hall,

1987), and no more than 250 km of Molucca Sea

lithosphere would have been subducted at the Halma-

hera Trench (Silver and Moore, 1978; Hall, 1987;

Lallemand et al., 1998). For Rangin et al. (1999b),

1750–3500 km of Molucca Sea lithosphere may have

disappeared along the double subduction system,

making the Molucca Sea the relict of a wider ocean

connecting the Pacific and Indian oceans. Finally, the

Sangihe and Halmahera arcs have begun to collide

and the resulting collision complex, composed of

deformed sediments and ophiolites, is thrusting west-

wards and eastwards over the Sangihe and Halmahera

volcanic arcs, respectively, and also southwards over

the Banggai–Sula platform (Silver and Moore, 1978;

McCaffrey, 1982; Letouzey et al., 1983; Silver et al.,

1983a; Garrard et al., 1988; Hall and Wilson, 2000).

4.1.4. Tectonic deformation within eastern Indonesia

Displacements linked to internal deformation with-

in eastern Indonesia, althougth of lower amplitude

than major plates motion, are locally important and

then must be taken into account in a plate tectonic

model.

In the western part of eastern Indonesia, E–W

shortening may be active since Middle Miocene

(Letouzey et al., 1990; Bergman et al., 1996; Guntoro,

1999) or Early Pliocene (Calvert and Hall, 2003)

within SW Sulawesi and the Makassar Strait. The

compression results from the successive collisions

between Sulawesi and westward migrating microcon-

tinents, such as Tukang Besi and Banggai–Sula (Sil-

ver et al., 1983a; Smith and Silver, 1991; Hall, 1996;

Guntoro, 1999). The shortening is still active, as

inferred from seismological and geodetic studies

(Walpersdorf et al., 1998b; Rangin et al., 1999a;

Beaudouin et al., 2003). Nevertheless, the Borneo/

Sulawesi convergence rate is low (b1.0 cm/yr).

East of Sulawesi, the Sunda block is clearly sepa-

rated from the North Banda Sea Basin (NBSB) by the

Tolo subduction (Silver et al., 1983a; Rehault et al.,

1991; Fig. 1). The shortening absorbed by this active

tectonic structure is relayed to the shortening in the

North Sulawesi Subduction by the way of the Matano

and Palu Koro faults, two major left-lateral curved

strike–slip faults separating S and SW Sulawesi from

N and NE Sulawesi and acting as a trench-to-trench

transform (Hamilton, 1979; Silver et al., 1983a; Wal-

persdorf et al., 1998a; Vigny et al., 2002; Beaudouin

et al., 2003). Indeed, paleomagnetic (Surmont et al.,


1994) and recent geodetic measurements (Walpersdorf

et al., 1998a; Bock et al., 2003) confirm that the

region constituted by the N and NE arms of Sulawesi,

Banggai–Sula, Buru and the NBSB, also called bSulablockQ by Rangin et al. (1999a), does not presently

belong to one of the three major AUS, PAC or SEA

plates. The Sula block is rotating clockwise with

respect to the Sunda block at a rate of about 48/Ma

around a pole of rotation located close to the NE

extremity of the northern arm of Sulawesi (Walpers-

dorf et al., 1998a, 1998b; Rangin et al., 1999a; Ste-

vens et al., 1999). This rotation produces about 4 cm/

yr left-lateral almost purely strike–slip motion along

the Palu Koro fault (Bellier et al., 2001; Vigny et al.,

2002). Based on geophysical and geological studies,

the total amount of rotation for the Sula block is

evaluated at around 208 since about 5 Ma and 200–

250 km of left-lateral displacement would have oc-

curred along the Palu–Koro Fault, with an average

rate of 4 cm/yr (Silver et al., 1983a; Rangin et al.,

1997, 1999a, 1999b; Walpersdorf et al., 1998a,

1998b; Nichols and Hall, 1999; Beaudouin et al.,

2003). However, the respective part of strike–slip

motion absorbed by the Matano and Lawanopo fault

zones (Fig. 4) is not known. The two systems may

have not been active simultaneously. The Lawanopo

Fault is now a fossil structure lying in the continuity

of the Hamilton fracture zone, which was active dur-

ing the NBSB opening. In our model we suggest that

post-opening left-lateral strike–slip reactivation oc-

curred along the Hamilton–Lawanopo FZ during the

Early Pliocene. Around 3 Ma, probably in response to

both (1) the collision between the Australian continent

and the Banda Arc to the south and (2) the collision

between Banggai–Sula and Sulawesi to the north, the

NBSB oceanic lithosphere began to subduct west-

wards at the Tolo Thrust. We then consider that the

left-lateral strike–slip motion along the Hamilton–

Lawanopo FZ was totally transferred northward, acti-

vating the Matano FZ.

The Sula block rotation is probably related to the

collision between NE Sulawesi and the westward

motion of the Banggai–Sula platform during Early–

Middle Pliocene time (Davies, 1990; Villeneuve et al.,

1998, 2000). From seismotectonic study, Beaudouin

et al. (2003) also highlight internal deformation within

the Sula block. Indeed, they evidence NNE–SSW

extensional stress regime in the southern part of the

Tomini Gulf separating the N and NE arms of Sula-

wesi. The estimated extension rate is 9 mm/yr and the

authors interpret this motion as a back-arc spreading

related to the North Sulawesi subduction. Finally, the

south-eastern limit of the Sula block is the E–W South

Sula Sorong Fault zone, located south of Banggai–

Sula (Fig. 4). Earthquakes with strike–slip focal

mechanisms (Vigny et al., 2002; Beaudouin et al.,

2003) and tectonic deformation observed on seismic

profiles (Rehault et al., 1991; Hinschberger et al.,

2000) indicate a sinistral transcurrent motion.

4.2. Eastern Indonesian basins formation and

evolution

In order to constrain a kinematic model of the

region, we particularly need to know how much and

where oceanic crust was created during Neogene time,

as well as the amount of oceanic lithosphere that has

disappeared at the trenches. Most of the oceanic

basins surrounding the Banda Sea region (i.e. the

Celebes, Sulu and Makassar basins) were formed in

a back-arc environment and they are characterized by

compressive tectonic reactivation, which account for

the PAC/SEA/AUS convergence. In the Banda Sea

region itself, significant progress was achieved from

the interpretation of the magnetic anomalies.

4.2.1. The Banda Sea basins

Close to the triple junction between the SEA,

Philippine Sea and Australian plates lie the Banda

Sea basins (Fig. 1). For a long time, their ages and

origin were controversial. They were interpreted by

turns as one Mesozoic trapped piece of Indian ocean

(Bowin et al., 1980), as Cretaceous–Eocene basins

related to the Celebes and Sulu basins (Lee and

McCabe, 1986), or, for the southern one (the South

Banda Sea Basin or SBSB), as a Neogene back-arc

basin related to the Banda subduction zone (Hamilton,

1979; Nishimura and Suparka, 1990; Villeneuve et al.,

1998). Finally, new geological and geophysical stud-

ies within the Banda Sea region support Hamilton’s

(1979) hypothesis. Geochemical and petrological data

(Rehault et al., 1994; Honthaas et al., 1998), in the

same way as magnetic anomalies identification

(Hinschberger, 2000; Hinschberger et al., 2000,

2001) accord with an opening of the North Banda

Sea Basin (NBSB) and the South Banda Sea Basin


(SBSB) from 12.5 to 7.15 Ma (magnetic anomalies

5An to 3Br) and from 6.5 to 3.5 Ma (magnetic

anomalies 3Ar to 2An), respectively (Fig. 4). Their

morphology and the geometry of their opening has

also been described in detail (Hinschberger et al.,

2003): to the north, sea floor spreading in the NBSB

was controlled by 3 large NW–SE transform faults,

namely the West Buru, Tampomas and Hamilton frac-

ture zones, while in the SBSB the ENE–WSW extinct

spreading centre is affected by 4 inactive transform

faults (Fig. 4). Based on spacing of magnetic linea-

tions, half spreading rates of about 3 cm/yr are calcu-

lated for the two basins, with spreading directions

trending NW–SE in the NBSB and NNW–SSE in

the SBSB (Hinschberger et al., 2000, 2001).

The elongated shape of the basins, especially for

the SBSB, their spreading directions and their back-

arc geochemical signature (Honthaas et al., 1998)

strongly support the idea that they were formed as

back-arc basins relative to the Banda subduction zone.

More precisely, the SBSB opened as an intra-arc

basin, separating the Banda volcanic arc to the south

from the incipient NEC-Lucipara volcanic arc to the

north (Honthaas et al., 1998; Hinschberger et al.,

2001), whereas the NBSB likely opened within a

microcontinent constituted by east Sulawesi, Buton

and the Sinta Ridge (Villeneuve et al., 1998, 2001;

Hinschberger et al., 2000). Nevertheless, the fragmen-

tation of the Banda Ridges may have continued after

the NBSB opening, as an effect of transtensional

tectonics due to the obliquity of the Banda subduc-

tion. Van Gool et al. (1987) interpret the high heat

flow values in the Lucipara Basin (175 and 134 mW/

m2) as the result of recent E–W strike–slip movement

affecting the Banda Ridges area. In our model we

follow their interpretation and propose that the frag-

mentation of the Banda Ridges, probably initiated as

soon as the Late Miocene, continued during Pliocene

time. This would be the effect of E–W sinistral strike–

slip motions, in part related to the Sorong Fault zone

system (Charlton, 2000), or to the obliquity of the

Seram subduction. As a consequence, the Sinta,

Rama, Lucipara and Pisang ridges have been separat-

ed by numerous sub-basins, which may be underlain

by thinned continental crust.

These new data about the age and the geometry of

the Banda Sea basins opening help to constrain a

kinematic model of the region. We used magnetic

anomaly patterns and directions of transform faults

to calculate rotation poles in order to reconstruct

initial closure stages for the two basins. The NBSB

is presently subducting towards the west beneath east

Sulawesi along the Tolo Trench (Silver et al., 1983a;

Rehault et al., 1991; Fig. 4). This explains the lack of

magnetic anomalies older than 9 Ma in the western

part of the basin, where about 100 km of oceanic crust

may have disappeared beneath Sulawesi (Hinschber-

ger et al., 2000). Further south, the cessation of

spreading at 3.5 Ma in the SBSB is attributed to the

Pliocene arc–continent collision between Australia

and the Banda Arc. Back-arc thrusting occurred dur-

ing Pleistocene time north of Wetar and Alor islands

in response to the continuous northward motion of the

Australian Plate; however, the amount of under-

thrusted SBSB lithosphere would be no more than

about 10 km (Silver et al., 1983b; McCaffrey and

Nabelek, 1984; McCaffrey, 1996). Furthermore, the

Alor–Wetar back thrust does not extend east of 127845V E, so that only the western part of the SBSB

(namely the Wetar Basin) is affected by back-arc

thrusting. This can be explained by the more advanced

stage of the collision in the area of Timor, where a

promontory of the Australian Plate has collided with

the Banda Arc (Simandjuntak and Barber, 1996).

From Middle Pliocene (age of the arc–continent col-

lision) to Present time, the most important part of the

Australia/SBSB convergence has been absorbed by

intra-arc shortening (about 100–150 km; Carter et

al., 1976; Schluter and Fritsch, 1985; Richardson

and Blundell, 1996; McCaffrey, 1996). N–S shorten-

ing within the Wetar Basin is also observed, but it

does not exceeds 10 km (Hinschberger, 2000).

Post spreading strike–slip reactivation is also rec-

ognized in the Banda Sea basins. The NBSB is af-

fected by a N 1658 E left-lateral strike-slip fault

revealed by magnetic and morphological data

(Hinschberger et al., 2000; Fig. 4). This structure

may be related to the collision phase between Aus-

tralia and the Banda Arc in Middle Pliocene. In the

SBSB, the Gunung Api fracture zone (GAFZ) is a

major tectonic feature oriented N 1608 E which is

likely a former transform fault of the basin (Hinsch-

berger et al., 2001; Fig. 4). The GAFZ is presently

affected by left-lateral strike–slip reactivation (Snyder

et al., 1996a; Hinschberger et al., 2003). This may be

the due to the more advanced stage of the arc–conti-


nent collision in Timor, which induced about 10 km of

shortening in the western part of the SBSB (in the

Alor–Wetar back-thrusts) whereas the eastern part of

the SBSB has been moving towards the north with the

Australian Plate since the arc–continent accretion

(Rangin et al., 1999a). We then suggest that the

GAFZ is presently accommodating the differential

motion of the two parts of the SBSB. It may transfer

the active shortening associated to the Alor–Wetar

back-thrust towards the north, in the area SW of

Seram Island, where some earthquake’s focal mechan-

isms indicate NNE–SSW compression (McCaffrey,

1988), and in the area of the Seram subduction

zone. The amount of strike–slip motions along

GAFZ would be approximately equal to the amount

of shortening calculated for the Alor–Wetar back-

thrusts, i.e. 10 km (Silver et al., 1983b; McCaffrey

and Nabelek, 1984; McCaffrey, 1996). We must also

point out that the Late Miocene–Pliocene NEC-Luci-

para volcanic arc north of the SBSB has not been

significantly affected by strike–slip offset in the area

of GAFZ (Fig. 4).

Earthquake focal mechanisms suggest the activity

of ENE–WSW left-lateral strike–slip faults close to

the south-eastern margin of the SBSB (McCaffrey,

1988). More generally, strike–slip movements may

have played a major role in the evolution of the

collision zone and possibly induced ENE migration

of several Banda Arc elements, such as Tanimbar and

Babar islands (McCaffrey, 1988, 1996; McCaffrey

and Abers, 1991). Before the cessation of the Banda

subduction at 0.5–1 Ma and the consecutive accretion

of the arc and back-arc Banda area to the Australian

Plate (Richardson and Blundell, 1996; Hughes et al.,

1996; Genrich et al., 1996), the obliquity of the Banda

subduction in its eastern part likely favoured the

generation of left-lateral strike–slip motions parallel

to the trench within the arc and back-arc area. Finally,

if we consider the present relative motion between the

Australian Plate and the SBSB (Ambon Island station)

using GPS data from Rangin et al. (1999a), we obtain

about 35 mm/yr NE–SW convergence, generating

left-lateral strike–slip along ENE–WSW structures.

4.2.2. The Weber Trough

East of the SBSB, the Weber Trough, with a max-

imum depth of about 7400 m, is one of the deepest

non-subduction basins in the world (Figs. 1 and 4). Its

age of formation would be Late Pliocene to Pleisto-

cene (Charlton et al., 1991; Honthaas et al., 1997),

making it the youngest basin in the eastern Indonesian

region resulting from extensional tectonics in a forearc

setting. We hypothesize that the Weber Trough

opened from about 3–1 Ma due to the northward

subduction of the Australian continental crust, induc-

ing very strong coupling between the upper and lower

plates and consequently a near complete partitioning.

More precisely, with north-eastward increasing obliq-

uity along the curved plate boundary, the Australia/

Banda Arc convergence lead to a NE increase of

motion partitioning and strike–slip movements in the

upper plate (McCaffrey, 1992, 1996). This may have

induced strong lateral motions along arc extension in

the forearc domain, as well as an eastward migration

of the subduction zone (McCaffrey, 1988). In a recent

stage, the eastern margin of the Weber Trough has

been uplifted, probably as a result of the late collision

stage and the rupture of the subducting slab at depth

(Charlton et al., 1991; Charlton, 1991, 1997).

4.3. Microcontinents origin and evolution

Several microcontinents are present within the

eastern Indonesian region. Their origin and their ki-

nematic evolution were studied by many authors, as

well as their subsequent collision and accretion to the

Eurasian margin (Hamilton, 1979; Bowin et al., 1980;

Pigram and Panggabean, 1984; Silver et al., 1985;

Hall, 1996, 2002; Hall and Wilson, 2000). Most of

them may have originated from the Australian or the

New Guinea margin, or from a microcontinent located

close to Australia, as the bBird’s Head micro-

continentQ proposed by Hall (1996, 2002). They likely

moved to their present positions after being sliced

from their original continental block along the Sorong

Fault zone at different times. Each of them was at-

tached to the Pacific or the Philippine Sea plates for a

few million years before their collision with Sulawesi.

This mechanism of continental margin erosion and

creation of continental slivers has been labelled the

bBacon SlicerQ. However, the term bmicrocontinentQused by the majority of the authors is not fully appro-

priate, since most of them may have had an oceanic

submerged part subsequently subducted. We briefly

present below the geodynamic evolution of the major

microcontinents in the area of the Banda Sea region.


4.3.1. Banggai–Sula

The Banggai–Sula platform (Fig. 1) is one of the

widest microcontinents within eastern Indonesia

(Hamilton, 1979; Pigram et al., 1985; Davies, 1990;

Villeneuve et al., 2000). For some authors, it would

have originated from Irian Jaya (Charlton, 1996; Vil-

leneuve et al., 1998, 2000). Alternatively, Pigram and

Panggabean (1984) and Pigram et al. (1985) estab-

lished from stratigraphic studies that the Banggai–

Sula microcontinent came from the part of the former

northern margin of the Australian continent now

found in central Papua New Guinea. Its separation

from the continent probably occurred during the Late

Cretaceous (Pigram and Symonds, 1991). For Hall

(1996, 2002), Banggai–Sula would be originally part

of a microcontinent (which he called bBird’s Head

microcontinentQ) separated by rifting from the Austra-

lian margin in the Jurassic. For the same author, others

areas would have belonged to this microcontinent

before being sliced from it during the Neogene, as

part of E and SE Sulawesi, Buton–Tukang Besi and

Seram.

Banggai–Sula is bounded to the north and to the

south by two strands of the Sorong Fault zone (Fig. 4).

Only the southern one seems to be still active, as

suggested by the large strike–slip earthquakes that

occurred south of the platform (i.e. the 29/11/98

earthquake; Mw=7.7; Beaudouin et al., 2003) and

the deformation seen on seismic reflection profiles

(Hinschberger, 2000). The Banggai–Sula platform is

colliding with Sulawesi since the Early Pliocene

(Davies, 1990; Villeneuve et al., 1998, 2000). The

collision zone is still active, as shown by a recent

large earthquake in this area (4 May 2000, Mw=7.5;

Vigny et al., 2002), but it is mainly affected by strike–

slip deformation (Beaudouin et al., 2003).

4.3.2. The Tukang Besi platform

South-east of Sulawesi, the Tukang Besi platform

(TBP, Fig. 4) is largely submerged but some islands

rise a few metres above sea level, exposing only

Upper Neogene and Quaternary reef limestones. It is

interpreted as an Australian continental fragment

bounded to the north by the Hamilton fracture zone

that constitutes the southern limit of the North Banda

Sea Basin (Hamilton, 1979; Bowin et al., 1980). The

age of the collision of TBP with the Sundaland margin

represented by the island of Sulawesi is not well

constrained. For Pigram and Panggabean (1984) and

Hall (1996, 2002), the TBP and the island of Buton

collided with Sulawesi during the Early or Middle

Miocene. For Villeneuve et al. (1998), the TBP (part

of the bLucipara blockQ) collided with Buton towards

the end of the Early Miocene.

4.3.3. The Kolonodale and Lucipara microcontinents

The northernmost part of the submerged Banda

Ridges (the Sinta Ridge), as well as East Sulawesi

and Buton, is characterized by a Late Triassic thick

carbonate platform covered by Jurassic to Early Mio-

cene deep sea sediments (Cornee et al., 1995). Based

on these stratigraphic similarities, Villeneuve et al.

(1998, 2001) propose that these elements were con-

stituting a single continental fragment, named the

bBanda blockQ or bKolonodale blockQ, which collided

with Sulawesi during Late Oligocene–Early Miocene

time. The Kolonodale microcontinent would have

been subsequently dismembered as the North Banda

Sea Basin opened during the Late Miocene (Rehault

et al., 1994; Hinschberger et al., 2000).

South of the Sinta Ridge, the Lucipara and Rama

ridges (Fig. 4) are also identified as continental frag-

ments (Silver et al., 1985; Cornee et al., 1998). More

eastward, the Pisang Ridge is likely of continental

origin, as suggested by dredgings of Oligocene reefal

deposits (Cornee et al., 2002). From stratigraphic

analogies between the Rama, Lucipara and Pisang

ridges, Villeneuve et al. (1998) and Cornee et al.

(2002) propose that they were part of another conti-

nental fragment, different from the Kolonodale block,

which they called the TLucipara blockr. This block

includes the eastern margin of the Weber Trough

and Kur Island (Honthaas et al., 1997), the Tukang

Besi platform and North Tanimbar. Indeed, the lithos-

tratigraphic succession of the Lucipara block frag-

ments is clearly different from that of the

Kolonodale block, as it is different from that of the

Banggai–Sula microcontinent (Garrard et al., 1988;

Villeneuve et al., 1998; Cornee et al., 2002). However,

the origin of the Lucipara block is not clear, as well as

the way it accreted to the Kolonodale microcontinent.

For Villeneuve et al. (1998), the Lucipara block

moved westwards and collided the previously accret-

ed Kolonodale block, firstly in Buton during the

Middle Miocene (Smith and Silver, 1991) and sec-

ondly in Seram. Similar hypothesis is proposed by


Cornee et al. (2002). In the same way as the Kolono-

dale block, the Lucipara block was subsequently split

into separate fragments due to the Late Neogene open-

ings of the Banda and Weber basins.

Other continental fragments were identified in the

area of the Banda Sea region. Among them, Buru and

Seram islands were probably part of a single micro-

continent, as shown by stratigraphic similarities

(Pigram and Panggabean, 1984; Linthout and Hel-

mers, 1994; Linthout et al., 1997; Milsom, 2000).

Finally, the island of Sumba could be another micro-

continental fragment. It may have reached its present

forearc situation in the Banda Arc by drifting south-

wards from the south-east asiatic margin (i.e. west

Sulawesi) during the Neogene (Wensink, 1997;

Soeria-Atmadja et al., 1998; Milsom, 2000; Ruther-

ford et al., 2001).

From this overview of the microcontinents present

in the Banda area, we conclude that their origin is

generally still debated, making hazardous any models

showing their evolution during Mesozoic and Paleo-

gene time. However, their Neogene history is better

known and is characterized by a succession of colli-

sions with the Eurasian margin. The Kolonodale (or

Banda) block of Villeneuve et al. (1998, 2001) first

collided with Sulawesi during Late Oligocene–Early

Miocene time. A second collision between the Luci-

para block, which contains the Tukang Besi platform,

and the Sundaland margin occurred during the Middle

Miocene (Smith and Silver, 1991; Villeneuve et al.,

1998). Finally, the Banggai–Sula microcontinent has

been colliding with NE Sulawesi since Late Miocene–

Early Pliocene time (Davies, 1990; Villeneuve et al.,

2000).

5. Kinematic model of eastern Indonesia

Our model enables us to reconstruct the eastern

Indonesian region by 0.1 Ma steps. The 0.1 Ma

animation can be requested from the author. Here,

we present the model as a series of four plate recon-

struction maps from 13 Ma to the present day. The

reconstructions show the major tectonic features be-

lieved to be active during each particular time interval.

For clarity of the maps, the present-day coastlines are

generally used in the reconstructions, in order that

individual blocks and fragments remain recognisable.

Nevertheless, it does not mean that the shape of the

coastlines have not changed during the past. More-

over, many islands in the Banda Arc area have

emerged from the sea very recently. The size and

shape of each block are kept fixed, except when

important shortening due to collision effects is attested

(i.e. in Timor) or in the case of arc growth (i.e. the

blocks in the Banda forearc).

The Late Neogene geodynamic history of the east-

ern Indonesian region is now well constrained by (1)

the precise age and geometry of the Banda basins

opening, (2) the two subducted slabs beneath the

Banda Arc and Seram, imaged by their respective

Wadati–Benioff zones, and (3) the identification of

microplates and the age of their collision with the

Eurasian margin. We decided to initiate our model at

13 Ma, age of the rifting of the North Banda Sea Basin.

Before that time the constraints on the geodynamic

evolution of the region are not sufficiently resolved to

propose a moel at the same space and time scale.

5.1. 13 Ma (Middle Miocene; Fig. 5)

At this time the northward moving Australian con-

tinent is situated far to the south and Indian oceanic

lithosphere is subducting at the Sunda Trench. Middle

Miocene (15 Ma; Fig. 5) could be the age of the onset

of the Banda subduction (Rangin et al., 1999b). The

Kolonodale block of Villeneuve et al. (1998, 2001) is

already accreted to the Sundaland margin, whereas the

Lucipara microcontinent (including the Tukang Besi

platform) is colliding both to the west with Sulawesi

in the Buton area (Smith and Silver, 1991) and to the

north with the eastern part of the Kolonodale micro-

continent (Cornee et al., 2002). For Rangin et al.

(1999b), the collision between Sulawesi, belonging

to the Sundaland margin, and a westward migrating

microcontinent would be the cause of the Middle

Miocene cessation of activity of the ancient subduc-

tion zone connecting the Java and Sangihe subduc-

tions. The collision between Sulawesi and the

microcontinent may also be responsible for the onset

of the Banda subduction to the south.

To the north, the Molucca Sea oceanic lithosphere

is subducting westwards at the Sangihe Trench,

whereas the Halmahera subduction does not exist.

Therefore, the Molucca Sea is part of the Philippine

Sea Plate and the Banggai–Sula microcontinent is

Anc

ient

tr

ansf

orm

PSP(90 km/Ma)

SEA

120°E

AUS(75 km/Ma)

AUSSa

ngih

esu

bduc

tion

Sundasubduction

Kalimantan

Australian platform

0 100 200

km300 400 500

SFZ

PacificOcean

MoluccaBasin

San

gihe

vol

can

icar

c

CelebesBasin

Flores Basin

0°

Volcanic arc

Sumba

Indian Oceanfragment ?

TAFZ not yet active

IndianOcean

Mak

assa

rB

asin

Ancie

ntSu

nda

-Sa

ngih

esu

bduc

tion

zone

Banggai-Sula

Tukang Besiplatform

WestSulawesi

North Sulawesi

NESulawesi

EastSulawesiSE

Sulawesi SeramLucipara blo ck

Collision betweenthe Lucipara andKolonodale blocks "Timor - Seram

Ocean"

But

on

Kolonodaleblock

13 Ma

?

Nascent Banda subduction

"Timor"(Banda forearc)

Fig. 5. Reconstruction of the eastern Indonesian region at 13 Ma. See Fig. 2 for the name of the terrane units and the symbols used. The

approximate boundaries of the Kolonodale and Lucipara microcontinents are indicated.


moving westwards on the PSP along a strand of the

active Sorong Fault zone. This fault is the main

tectonic boundary between the Philippine and Austra-

lian plates at this time. Considering the relative mo-

tion between the two plates, the movement along the

SFZ is essentially left-lateral strike–slip at about 12

cm/yr. A transform fault connecting a southern strand

of the SFZ and the eastern limit of the Banda subduc-

tion is proposed as a hypothesis.

We also take into account in our model the 208clockwise rotation of the northern arm of Sulawesi

(Silver et al., 1983a; Walpersdorf et al., 1998a, 1998b;

Rangin et al., 1999a). At 13 Ma, the northern arm of

Sulawesi is oriented NE–SW and the north Sulawesi

subduction does not exist. To the west, the Makassar

Strait shows some shortening (no more than 50 km)

that has affected the basin since Middle Miocene

(Letouzey et al., 1990; Bergman et al., 1996; Guntoro,

1999). This shortening may have started later, in the

Early Pliocene (Calvert and Hall, 2003). However,

since the convergence rate is very low, it would

have little impacts on our model. We also consider

that Sumba is already situated in the forearc domain at

13 Ma (Soeria-Atmadja et al., 1998) and that the

Flores Basin is opened, probably as a back-arc basin

relative to the Sunda subduction zone. This remains a

hypothesis, but this has only minor implications in the

model. Lastly we do not rotate Kalimantan. Indeed,

such a Cenozoic rotation remains controversial, with

some authors advocating a large counter-clockwise

rotation of the island, whereas others propose no, or

even clockwise rotation (Hall, 1996).


5.2. 9 Ma (Fig. 6)

At 9 Ma (Fig. 6) the Indian oceanic lithosphere is

subducting both at the Sunda and Banda trenches and

the Banda Arc has appeared, as shown by the age of

the oldest volcanic rocks sampled on Wetar Island and

dated at 12 Ma (Abbott and Chamalaun, 1981). The

obduction of an ophiolite in the northern coast of

Timor and on smaller islands in the southern outer

Banda Arc at 9.5–8 Ma is attested from petrological

data (Linthout et al., 1997). As an origin for this

ophiolite, these latter authors put an 850 km long

ENE-trending zone of oceanic lithosphere between

the Banda volcanic arc and the Timor Trench. The

obduction could be related to a Late Miocene collision

Banda subdu

SEA

Kalimantan

CelebesBasin

Nascent Banda vo

Flores Basin

IndianOcean

0°

120°E

Opening ofthe NBSB

9 Ma

?

ACCRETIONARYPRISM

?

"Timor"(Australianplatform)

Fig. 6. Reconstruction of the eastern Indonesian region at 9 Ma. See Fig. 2 f

of the map, the contours of the fragmented Kolonodale and Lucipara mic

between the Banda Arc and an Australian continental

fragment (Van Bergen et al., 1993; Richardson and

Blundell, 1996). However, this early accretion history

is not well established (Audley-Charles, 2004), nor is

the obduction of an ophiolite in Timor at this time

(Harris and Long, 2000; Harris, 2003). In our model,

we partly follow Linthout et al. (1997) by placing an

oceanic plate (bTimor–Seram OceanQ in Fig. 5) sepa-

rating the Banda subduction from the nascent Banda

volcanic arc. This oceanic microplate may have totally

subducted northwards and the Banda subduction

could therefore be interpreted as a double subduction

system.

9 Ma could also be the age of the onset of the

Seram subduction. In this case, a transform fault

ction

AUS(75 km/Ma)

PSP(90 km/Ma)

Australianplatform

Seramsubduction

BS

Sang

ihe

subd

ucti

on

Obductionin Seram (and

Timor ?)

lcanic

arc

SFZ

TAFZ

PacificOcean

MoluccaBasin

Bird's HeadmicroplateA

ctive?

0 100 200

km300 400 500

or the name of the terrane units and the symbols used. For the clarity

rocontinents are not represented.


(proto Tarera–Aiduna Fault) is required to allow west-

ward subduction of oceanic lithosphere belonging to

the Bird’s Head microplate. The obliquity of this

subduction induces strike–slip motions in the arc

and local obduction of ophiolites on Seram (Linthout

and Helmers, 1994). Alternatively, Linthout et al.

(1997) propose that the ophiolite in SW Seram may

have originated from the bTimor–Seram OceanQ. Inour model, we consider the two hypothesis by sug-

gesting also the obduction of material derived from

the bTimor–Seram OceanQ on Seram. More north-

ward, a part of the relative Australian/PSP motion is

still absorbed by the Sorong Fault zone, but at a

reduced rate. The Banggai–Sula platform and the

Halmahera terrane are attached to the Philippine Sea

Plate and then continue to move rapidly towards the

west.

In the Banda area, the North Banda Sea Basin has

begun to open since 12.5 Ma (Hinschberger et al.,

2000), separating the Kolonodale block into two parts:

the eastern Sulawesi margin to the NW and the Sinta

Ridge to the SE. The Hamilton and west Buru fracture

zones act as transform boundaries during the basin

opening. The NW–SE spreading direction of the

NBSB and its back-arc geochemical signature

(Rehault et al., 1994; Honthaas et al., 1998) support

the hypothesis that it forms as a back-arc basin rela-

tive to the double Banda subduction zone. We do not

totally exclude the possibility that it is related to the

nascent Seram subduction, but we choose the first

hypothesis since in our opinion this subduction is

not installed at 12.5 Ma when the NBSB begins to

open.

5.3. 6.5 Ma (Late Miocene; Fig. 7)

According to magnetic anomalies identification,

the NBSB is entirely opened at 6.5 Ma (Fig. 7). The

back-arc oceanic accretion due to the Banda subduc-

tion propagates southwards, inducing first a rifting

episode within the NEC-Lucipara Arc and second

the opening of the south Banda Sea Basin (Honthaas

et al., 1998; Hinschberger et al., 2001). From 7.15 Ma

(cessation of opening of the NBSB) to 6.5 Ma (rifting

of the SBSB), a rifting event occurs within the Banda

Ridges, resulting into their fragmentation and local

oceanic spreading (i.e. in the south Buru Basin sepa-

rating Buru Island from the Sinta Ridge). Further the

general back-arc setting of the region, the effect of

transtensional tectonics due to the obliquity of the

Banda subduction may also play a role in the frag-

mentation of the Banda Ridges. More southward, the

bTimor–Seram OceanQ is almost entirely subducted

beneath the Banda Arc.

5.4. 3.5 Ma (Middle Pliocene; Fig. 8)

The Middle Pliocene (Fig. 8) is the time of a major

tectonic reorganisation in the eastern Indonesian re-

gion with the initiation of collision between the Aus-

tralian continent to the south and the Banda Arc to the

north. The collision may occur a little earlier in Timor,

where a promontory of the Australian shelf enters the

subduction zone. The arc–continent collision induces

the end of the SBSB oceanic spreading at 3.5 Ma, as

indicated by the most recent magnetic anomaly iden-

tified and the cessation of magmatic activity on the

Wetar segment of the Banda volcanic arc at 3 Ma

(Abbott and Chamalaun, 1981). Approximately at the

same time, the continental shelf situated in front of the

Bird’s Head microplate begins to enter the Seram

subduction zone, inducing a collisional episode in

Seram. Associated to the Seram subduction, the

Ambon volcanic arc (Fig. 3) that appeared around 5

Ma continues to be active during the collision. The

Seram subduction does not extend north of Buru;

however, the western displacement of the Irian Jaya

microplate with respect to the Banda Sea region may

induce the opening of the North Buru Basin as a pull-

apart (Fig. 4). This interpretation is in accordance with

the high heat flow values in this basin (Van Gool et

al., 1987). More southward, the fragmentation of the

Banda Ridges continues during Pliocene time, as an

effect of E–W sinistral strike–slip motions related to

the Sorong Fault zone system or to the obliquity of the

Seram subduction.

The Middle Pliocene is also the age of the collision

between the westward migrating Banggai–Sula micro-

continent and the NE arm of Sulawesi, giving rise to

thrusts and folds in the two blocks. This incipient

collision could also be responsible for the 208 clock-wise rotation of the northern arm of Sulawesi from 5

Ma to Present time, inducing the subduction of about

250 km of Celebes Sea oceanic crust at the north

Sulawesi Trench. The rotation of the northern part

of Sulawesi is accommodated by the way of the

AUS(75 km/Ma)

PSP(90 km/Ma)

Banda subduction

0 100 200

km300 400 500

Seram

subductionKalimantan

Australianplatform

BS

CelebesBasin

Flores Basin

SEA

Rifting ofthe SBSB

120°E

0°

IndianOcean

PacificOcean

MoluccaBasin

Sang

ihe

subd

ucti

on

SFZ

TAFZ

BANDAACCRETIONARY

PRISM

6.5 Ma

"Timor"(Australianplatform)

"Timor"

(Banda forearc)

Fig. 7. Reconstruction of the eastern Indonesian region at 6.5 Ma. See Fig. 2 for the name of the terrane units and the symbols used.


Matano and Palu–Koro faults (Figs. 1 and 4), which

act as a left-lateral strike–slip transform boundary

(Walpersdorf et al., 1998a, 1998b). However, a part

of the strike–slip motion may also be absorbed by the

Lawanopo Fault lying in the continuity of the Hamil-

ton fracture zone. Around 3 Ma, the NBSB oceanic

lithosphere begins to subduct westwards at the Tolo

Thrust (Silver et al., 1983a; Rehault et al., 1991) and

the Palu–Koro and Matano fault system acts as a

trench-to-trench transform between the Tolo Thrust

and the north Sulawesi Trench.

More northward, the Halmahera and the Philippine

subductions appear during the Pliocene, accommodat-

ing a part of the PSP/SEA convergence and isolating

the Molucca Basin from the West Philippine Basin

(Hall, 1987; Lallemand et al., 1998; Rangin et al.,

1999b). Nevertheless, the most important part of the

convergence would still be absorbed by the Sangihe

subduction (Lallemand et al., 1998; Beaudouin et al.,

2003). Finally, outward thrusting of the thickened

accretionary complex of the Molucca Sea collision

zone occurs in the opposite direction to the dip of

the subducting slabs beneath (Silver and Moore, 1978;

McCaffrey, 1982; Hall, 2002).

5.5. From 3.5 Ma to the Present (Fig. 9)

Plate boundaries and major tectonic features are

those observed at present. The Plio–Quaternary geo-

dynamic history is dominated by the Banda Arc–

Bird'sHead

?

Flores Basin

AUS

0 100 200

km300 400 500

Scale at Equator Australia

Australian

platformIndianOcean

SEA

Kalimantan

Celebes

Basin

PacificOcean

Molucca

Basin

PSP

90 km/Ma

75 km/Ma

0°

120°E

Arc-continent collision

begins in Timor

End of opening of

the SBSB

Arc-continent

collision in Seram

BS-Sulawesi

collision

BS

Weber Trough

be gins

to

open

North Sulawesi Tre nch

To

loT

hru

st

SFZ

TAFZ

BANDA ACCRETIONARY PRISM

Eastward retreat

of the Banda slab

AmbonArc

3.5 Ma

"Timor"

(Australian

platform)

"Timor"

(Banda forearc)

Fig. 8. Reconstruction of the eastern Indonesian region at 3.5 Ma. See Fig. 2 for the name of the terrane units and the symbols used.


Australian continent collision, inducing N–S shorten-

ing (around 150 km of shortening in Timor according

to Richardson and Blundell (1996)) and back-arc

thrusting south of the Wetar Basin, with the initiation

of the Wetar and Alor back-arc thrusts. Strike–slip

reactivation of the GAFZ is also observed. More

eastward, the Banda Arc and the Damar Basin have

almost been transferred to the Australian Plate, as

shown by GPS data (Genrich et al., 1996; Rangin et

al., 1999a). Another effect of the collision is the rapid

uplift and emergence of the Banda archipelago islands

(De Smet et al., 1990; Snyder et al., 1996a). The

Australian platform has been subducted to at least

100–150 km depth in the area of Timor, where the

Australian oceanic lithosphere is presently believed to

be detached from the continental lithosphere (McCaf-

frey et al., 1985; Charlton, 1991; Elburg et al., 2004).

According to Packham (1996), the subduction of

Australian continental crust toward the NNE is more

advanced in the easternmost part of the Banda sub-

duction zone, where up to 400 km of continental

lithosphere would have been subducted. The subduc-

tion in this area is very flat and oblique, inducing a

strong interplate coupling between the Australian con-

tinental crust entering the subduction zone and the

forearc crust lying above. This may lead to a rapid

eastward retreat of the slab and can explain the open-

ing of the Weber Basin from 3 to 1 Ma. More east-

ward, present extension is observed in the Aru Basin

located between Aru and Kai islands (Charlton et al.,

1991; Bock et al., 2003). This WNW–ESE extension

affects the Australian platform and can be linked to


the eastern termination of the Banda subduction zone,

where the strong obliquity of the convergence may

favour the opening of the basin as a pull-apart.

The Banda Sea region continues to be affected by

internal deformation. The North Banda Sea Basin

(NBSB) is still subducting beneath eastern Sulawesi,

as attested by 6 moderate earthquakes with reverse

faulting focal mechanisms (Beaudouin et al., 2003).

The NBSB is then moving westwards, but at a lower

rate than the Sula block to the north. The two domains

are separated by the south Sula Sorong Fault charac-

terized by left-lateral strike–slip regime. NE of Bang-

gai–Sula, the Sorong Fault is also active but at a low

rate: the GPS measurements of Bock et al. (2003)

suggest 19F8 mm/yr slip at 1288 E. The Banggai–

Sula/Sulawesi collision zone is still deforming, as

shown by a recent large earthquake in this area, but

it is mainly affected by strike–slip deformation (Beau-

douin et al., 2003). More eastward, the Matano and

Palu–Koro Fault system in Sulawesi is still active and

NNE–SSW extension is observed in the Tomini Gulf

separating the N and NE arms of Sulawesi. Finally,

south of the NBSB, the Hamilton Fault (Fig. 4) and

the strike–slip structures within the Banda Ridges also

absorb a part of the relative motion between SEA and

PAC/PSP.

6. Discussion and conclusion

Our model, by integrating a large amount of facts

and by its coherency, gives a clear tectonic evolution

of the eastern Indonesian region for the Late Neogene

time. However, several points remain undercon-

strained. Among them, the kinematic history of

Seram can be discussed. For Haile (1978), the Kelang

Island located west of Seram has rotated 748 anti-

clockwise since Middle Miocene, with no significant

difference in inclination, whereas Seram has rotated

anticlockwise 988 since the Late Triassic. These

results are established from paleomagnetic data. As

the author points out himself, they should be treated

with caution, especially for the Triassic data. For

Kelang, local rotation cannot be excluded. In his

kinematic model, Hall (1996, 2002) does not consider

any major rotation for Seram in the last 15 million

years. In our model we take into account the 748anticlockwise rotation for Seram (Haile, 1978). In-

deed, this rotation accords well with the existence of

a westward subducting oceanic plate beneath Seram

as imaged by the seismic data (Fig. 3). Without a

rotation of Seram, the subduction of a 700 km long

slab seems difficult to explain, considering the WNW

motion of the Bird’s Head microplate relative to SEA.

However, our model in the Seram region is not spa-

tially sufficiently resolved and then remains tentative.

The origin of the hypothetical TTimor–Seram

oceanr located between the Banda subduction and

the nascent Banda volcanic arc (Fig. 5) and even its

shape and size are still discussed. This oceanic interarc

domain has now totally disappeared. Corresponding

ophiolites are found in some islands in the Banda Arc

and Seram (Linthout et al., 1997). In our model, this

domain represents a part of the Indian Ocean, from

which it was separated by the eastward propagation of

the Banda subduction. For Monnier et al. (2003), the

Seram–Ambon ophiolites formed during the Early

Miocene in a small, short-lived (10 Ma), transtensive

basin bordered by a passive continental margin to the

west and by an active margin to the east. Alternatively,

the Timor–Seram ocean could have opened during the

Early Miocene as a back-arc basin related to the Banda

subduction. In this case, this Tproto Banda Sear may

have opened and closed a few million years before the

present South Banda Sea Basin.

Similarly the origin of the oceanic domain located

in front of the Bird’s Head microcontinent remains

uncertain. In our model, we have restored the oceanic

plate subducted beneath Seram. Fig. 5 shows this

domain as a fragment of the Indian Ocean, from

which it was separated at around 9 Ma when the

Tarera Aiduna Fault zone became active (Fig. 6).

However, this now totally subducted oceanic domain

may have opened as a pull-apart basin along the

Sorong Fault zone or as a marginal basin formed in

a supra-subduction environment, in the same way as

basins obducted in central and north New Guinea

(Pubellier et al., 2003a). Hence, the two-slabs hypoth-

esis (distinct Banda and Seram subductions) sup-

ported in our model requires the Bird’s Head to

move several hundreds kilometres westwards relative

to New Guinea. This still controversial point may be-

come clearer when the critical region of New Guinea

is better known.

A still unresolved question is the absence of vol-

canic arc associated with the subduction of the south-


ern Molucca Sea below NE Sulawesi. According to

our model and others, at least 500 km of oceanic

lithosphere in front of the Banggai–Sula platform

should have been subducted, but the Sangihe volcanic

arc does not extend south of the northern arm of

Sulawesi.

Finally, the geodetic measurements showing the

present accretion of the eastern Banda Arc to the

Australian plate (Genrich et al., 1996; Rangin et al.,

1999a) should imply left-lateral strike–slip faults with

a NNE–SSW direction in the area of the South Banda

Sea Basin. These faults would accommodate the dif-

ferent motion between the eastern and western parts of

the basin. We do recognize NNW–SSE faulted zones

(i.e. the reactivated GAFZ, Fig. 4), but no NNE–SSW

SEA

0°

Kalimantan

IndianOcean

120°E

Celebes

Basin

Banda subd

75

Tomini

Gulf

extension

Tim

or-

0 Ma

Timor(collisioncomplex)Sumba

Clockwise

rotating

Sula Block

Wet

ar

Fau

lt

Fig. 9. Map of the eastern Indonesian region for the present time. See

structures analog to the fault separating Alor and

Wetar islands (Timor–Wetar Fault in Fig. 9). Howev-

er, the accretion of the Banda Arc to the Australian

continent is recent (less than 1 Ma; Hughes et al.,

1996) and the expected faults may be too young to

have a topographic signature. Moreover, the lack of

E–W seismic lines in the SBSB makes it difficult to

observe such structures.

Despite these uncertainties, we have used anima-

tion techniques with reconstructions drawn at 0.1 Ma

time interval to test the coherency of the plate tectonic

model for the eastern Indonesian region. We limit our

model to the last 13 million years, period for which

we have numerous well-established kinematic con-

straints (magnetic lineations, Benioff zones location,

AUS

PSP

0 100 200

km300 400 500

Scale at Equator

Bird'sHead

Australia

Australian

platform

PacificOcean

Weber

Trough

opened

uction (almost inactive)

Aru

Basin

opening

90 km/Ma

km/Ma

Fig. 2 for the name of the terrane units and the symbols used.


and seismic and geodetic measurements for the last

million year). Of course this model is oversimplified

and we need to be cautious in applying the rules of

plate tectonics in a region where deforming litho-

sphere may be as wide as 1000 km. In a similar

way, Hall (2002) tells: bthe inadequacies of the tec-

tonic model reflect in part the difficulties of applying

rigid plate tectonics, when there is clear evidence of

changing shapes of fragmentsQ. We have tried to take

into account this problem by simulating the growth of

the Banda and Seram accretionary zones, as well as

the shortening of the Banda Arc due to the arc–

continent collision. Unfortunately, there is a lack of

data in some areas such as the Weber Basin, Seram,

Buru and the Bird’s Head, all located at a key position

for the understanding of the geodynamic history of the

region. We need new constraints to improve or correct

our model and modifications are expected in the

future as new data may become available.

The eastern Indonesian region clearly appears as a

very active area where the deformation associated to

the AUS/PSP/SEA triple junction area is widely

distributed and rapidly evoluting. The Indonesian

seaway was closed around 10 Ma, in response to

the eastward propagation of the Banda Arc (Fig. 6).

Although located within an overall convergent set-

ting, the region has been characterized by the suc-

cessive opening of three basins from NW to SE

(NBSB, SBSB and Weber Basin). However, the

present arc–continent collision, both in Timor and

Seram areas, has induced a generalized compression

of the region, as observed with the early stage of

closure of the Banda basins (NBSB subducting in

the Tolo Trench, SBSB thrusted by the Banda vol-

canic arc). The Australian Plate will not stop its

rapid northward motion and, in a few million

years, the continued convergence will lead to the

closure of the Banda basins. One can imagine that

they will completely disappear and that evidences

will only be preserved as ophiolites obducted in

the Banda Arc and the Banda Ridges. The latter

will likely be accreted to a new fold and thrust

belt similar to the one observed in New Guinea.

Finally, our model underlines the role of strike–slip

faulting in the tectonic pattern developed in the east-

ern Indonesian region. In this respect, large motions

along the SFZ and the TAFZ are of major significance

for the geodynamic regional evolution. As a result,

oblique subductions and collisions (Eastern Banda

Arc, Seram) may have induced rapid opening of

short-lived pull-apart basins, for which no traces are

preserved. The strike–slip tectonics may have played a

major role in the fragmentation and dispersion of

some microcontinents, as the Kolonodale block and

the Banda Ridges, and is still active at the present day.

The eastern Indonesian region can thus be compared

to other convergent areas in the world where similar

rapid actively evolving microplate formation is ob-

served, such as the Caribbean plate margin.

Acknowledgements

F. Hinschberger was supported by a scholarship

from the French Ministry of Education and our re-

search programme is supported by UBO, CNRS-

INSU and TOTAL oil company. This work is the

result of ten years of French–Indonesian cooperation

in oceanography. Plate reconstructions were made

using the interactive reconstruction software of the

PLATES Project developed by the University of

Texas Institute for Geophysics. Part of the maps pre-

sented in this paper were made using GMT software

(Wessel and Smith, 1995). Fig. 3 was made using the

ANSS/CNSS catalog of the Northern California

Earthquake Data Center. David Graindorge helped

with the translation. We are finally grateful to the

editor and to the two anonymous reviewers for their

constructive comments.

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Late Cenozoic geodynamic evolution of eastern Indonesia