Post-Cretaceous intraplate volcanism in the Central Indian Ocean Basin

✍ Scribed by Ranadhir Mukhopadhyay

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 352 KB
• Volume: 151
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0025-3227
• DOI: 10.1016/s0025-3227(98)00073-5

✦ Synopsis

Intraplate volcanism in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) has been of much interest, since this tectonically young and structurally complex basin holds signatures of at least one major plate reorganisation at 65 š 5 Ma; and two major plate boundary structural deformations occurring at 54:5 š 3 Ma (collision of India with Eurasia) and at 7 Ma (intraplate deformation in the Indo-Australian plate). To ascertain the extent and intensity of intraplate eruptions, an area close to 345,000 km 2 was surveyed recently by swath multibeam system and extensively sampled. Morphology, density, off-axis production rate and petrology of a host of large seamounts and abundant smaller volcanic edifices suggest their non-uniform growth in the past. The assessment points to the possibility that Paleogene tectonic reactivation in the basinal areas could be related to intraplate volcanism which, although of significance, may be limited in occurrence.