CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Sumatra Tectonic Setting

TEKTONIK PULAU JAWA
• Type area for accretionary margin
• Oldest part of Indonesian margin
• Part of Sundaland by end Palaeozoic
Tim Pengajar MK Geologi Indonesia • Carboniferous and older basement
SUMATRA • Gondwana-Cathaysia suture (somewhere)

SE Asia Research Group

Department of Earth Sciences
Royal Holloway University of London

1 2 3

1 2 3

Sumatra Stratigraphy Sumatra Stratigraphy

• Oldest part of • By Cretaceous already complex basement

Indonesian margin • Continental fragments have been suggested to be
• Part of Sundaland by part of basement (Natal, Sikeluh, etc)
end Palaeozoic • Now not thought to be continental – part of
• Carboniferous and Woyla arc
older basement • Woyla intra-oceanic arc collided with Sundaland
• Gondwana-Cathaysia margin in mid Cretaceous
suture (somewhere) • Several episodes of granite magmatism
• Cenozoic basins formed on this complex
basement
Barber et al., 2005
4 5 6

4 5 6

© Robert Hall, 2009 Sumatra and Java 1

CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Barber et al., 2005

Sunda Forearc

• Conventional forearc model

• Accretion transfers material from downgoing to upper
plate
• Typical forearc high is elevated above sea level due to
this offscraping
• Accretionary prism is essentially a contractional
feature
• Subduction erosion now a common alternative
model

Barber et al., 2005

7 8 9

7 8 9

Barber et al., 2005 Dickinson et al., 1977 Modified from Scholl et al. (1980).

Forearcs are often interpreted as regions of

contraction in which elevation results from
addition of material from lower to upper plate

Now commonly thought that significant loss of material

Barber et al. (2005); redrawn from Moore et al. (1980), Matson & Moore (1992)
10 11 may occur at the forearc by subduction erosion. 12

10 11 12

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Cenozoic basins

• Formed on top of composite crust

• Mainly continental, and in place by Late Triassic
• Major pre-Cenozoic structures, such as Medial
Sumatra Tectonic zone of Barber et al. (2005) When did volcanic activity begin?
• Complex internal fabrics to different blocks
• No evidence for outboard micro-continental
blocks
• Not backarc, except in descriptive, non-genetic
sense

Barber et al., 2005

13 14 15

13 14 15

Igneous Activity
80 Ma to 45 Ma Initiation of Volcanism
Basic
Intermediate • Little evidence for significant Cenozoic volcanic
Acid
activity before mid Eocene
56 dates • Suggests subduction initiation at about 45 Ma
• About the same age as basin formation
Fission track
Dykes 1 zircon
K-Ar
3 hornblende throughout the region JAVA
1 K feldspar
6 plagioclase
3 pyroxene
36 whole rock
8 not known

Little stratigraphic
evidence for
significant volcanic
Volcanic Rocks activity
16 17 18

16 17 18

© Robert Hall, 2009 Sumatra and Java 3

CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Engdahl et al. 1998

Java Tectonic Setting

• Usual view of Java is a volcanic arc situated

above a subduction zone
• What is unusual about Java?
• Was volcanic activity continuous?
• If not, why?
• What is the origin of the basins?
• What tectonic setting did they form in?
• Why is Java elevated today?

19 20 21

19 20 21

Java: some key features

• Great width of arc-trench gap

• Low dip of slab to 100 km depth
JAVA • Steep slab from 100 km to 600 km depth
BALI
England et al., 2004, Geophysical Journal International, 156, 377-408

Lombok • Differences in seismicity along the arc

Christmas
• Seismic gap beneath East Java
Island

• Can examine with well-located events using data

from Engdahl et al. (1998) Depth to top of slab –
100 km -ish
• Same dataset used in P-wave tomography
22 23 24

22 23 24

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Seismicity: Locally intense near trench – subduction erosion Wide zone of shallow and intermediate depth hypocentres Slab steepens significantly north of arc

25 26 27

25 26 27

In this position in East Java there are

Absence of intermediate depth K-rich volcanoes behind normal arc K-rich volcanoes
hypocentres in East Java Between 50 and 100 km behind normal arc
Now inactive: limited dating suggests age < 2 Ma

Muriah Muriah

Ringgit Ringgit

arc-trench gap ~ 300 km

Christmas
Island

28 29 30

28 29 30

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Schlüter et al., 2002

Note thickness of sediment on subducting slab and

compare to volume of accretionary wedges I and II

Java Forearc
Some accretion
Some subduction erosion

Kopp et al., 2002

31 32 33

31 32 33

Kopp et al., 2002

34 Kopp et al., 2002 35 36

34 35 36

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Kopp et al., 2002

Kopp et al., 2006

VE: 4:1
Changing styles of interpreted
accretionary complex

Note width
Age of the “Java unconformity” ?

Kopp et al., 2006

Trenc Is this really

h accretionary ?

Almost 20 km
crustal
Deformation and subduction thickness
erosion above Roo Rise beneath
Outer High
Trench is advancing and reducing
width of forearc
37 38 39

37 38 39

Java on Land

• As expected, a long arc history

• But where exactly were the arcs?
• Why was arc activity not continuous?
• When did arc activity occur?

Zones of van Bemmelen (1949)

Alluvial plains of N Java
Rembang Zone
Kendeng Zone
Volcanic Arc
Randublantang Zone
Ngawi subzone
Southern Mountains

40 41 42

40 41 42

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Hamilton, 1979

2500

2000

1500
Height metres

1000

500 Java: topography and gravity

0 Bouguer mGal

120

80

40

-40

Helen Smyth, 2003

43 44 45

43 44 45

Java: stratigraphy
Basement
• Edge of Sundaland
• Continental basement in west, ophiolitic and arc Oldest basement seen in central Java at
basement inferred in east
Karangsambung
• Oldest rocks: Cretaceous ophiolites & HP-LT Ophiolites and HP-LT metamorphic rocks
metamorphic rocks
Ophiolites accreted in Cretaceous, probably as a
• No Late Cretaceous or Paleocene
result of collision of continental block
• Middle Eocene (mainly) sediments, basin
development begins
Similar rocks seen at Ciletuh, West Java
• Middle Miocene carbonates widespread
• Several structural trends
A few scraps exposed in East Java
46 47 48

46 47 48

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Central Java Karangsambung, Central Java West Java

?Cretaceous eclogite

Pillow Lavas HP-LT metamorphic rocks

Asikin et al., 2007

49 50 Deformed Cretaceous cherts 51

49 50 51

Ciletuh West Java: offshore

• Is there another important change in West Java?

• Several fault trends

• No inversion
• Only major unconformity very young – Early
Pliocene or younger (?)

52 53 54

52 53 54

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Yulianto et al., 2007

Yulianto et al., 2007 Yulianto et al., 2007

55 56 57

55 56 57

Offshore East Java

East Java

• Little known of pre-Eocene

• Previously assumed continental core in West
Java with accreted basement in East of
arc/ophiolitic character
• Basin formation appears to start in Eocene
• Middle Eocene Nanggulan Formation exposed at
one of the few localities known on land

Yulianto et al., 2007 Matthews and Bransden, 1995

58 59 60

58 59 60

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Lelono, 2000

The Nanggulan Formation

is well known as terrestrial-
marine Eocene
Lelono, 2000 Lelono, 2000
61 62 63

61 62 63

New Work Basin development East Java

Helen Smyth, Ben Clements, Lanu Cross
• East Java underlain by old continental crust
• Paleogene arc load produced flexural basin
• Paleogene arc activity ended with major explosive
event on scale of Toba ~20 Ma
• No Middle Miocene arc ~20-12 Ma (hinge
advance)
• Arc activity resumed in Late Miocene ~12 Ma
• Major northward thrusting of older arcs ~ 7-8 Ma
• Recent arc activity resumed > 50 km north of
older arcs
• Arc crust is thick, not thin, throughout Java
64
• Some important differences between shelf (now
offshore) and arc (what is now onshore)…
• … and between West and East Java
• Began in Middle Eocene
• On land basins are not typical rift basins
• Volcanic activity began earlier than reported
• Character not exclusively andesitic
• Fill has important volcanic component
• Mainly carbonates in Middle Miocene
65
• Compositions of volcanic rocks, and ages of
zircon suggest continental material beneath
parts of East Java
• Many samples of igneous rocks from the
Southern Mountains contain zircons with
Archean ages
66

64 65 66

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

N Modern Arc S
East Java Sea: Kendeng Basin Southern Mtns
shelf Thick sequence behind Eocene to
Eocene to Early Miocene arc
Early Miocene
volcanic arc

5 km

Pertamina, 1996

100 km

The ‘Old Andesites’ are

obvious and well known as
the products of Oligocene Acid volcanic products
volcanic activity
have been overlooked
– but are widespread The strong gravity low associated with the
Kendeng Basin disappears to the west
67 68 69

67 68 69

Possible sources

Phanerozoic
Schwaner Mountains Proterozoic
Granites Archean

Borneo
Australian
Precambrian blocks
Smyth et al., 2007
70 71 72

70 71 72

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

2000

What is beneath East Java?

1500

2006 earthquake
1000

750

500

epicentre
250

-250

-500

µms-2

0 50 100

kilometres

Subducted sediments

Continental fragment
beneath the arc
80 to 45 Ma
reconstruction

Subducted continental fragment

Forearc and trench Roo Rise

73 74 structure changes
75

73 74 75

SEMILIR EVENT Semilir Eruption: East Java

~ 20 Ma Smyth, 2005

Semilir Event

Semilir Eruption

Thick acid volcanic

ash deposits –
erupted in a short
interval close to
20 Ma
76 77 78

76 77 78

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Zircon U-Pb ages 20 million year reconstruction. Fan shapes are based on Toba ash fall, reoriented to
show likely dispersal extents depending on which way the wind was blowing.
Approximate limit is grey circle
Smyth et al., 2005 and in progress

SHRIMP TIMS

West Java
Usually identified as oldest Eocene

TIMS 20.63 ± 0.05 Ma

79 81

79 80 81

Schiller et al., 1991

Ciletuh Formation Ciemas Formation
Quartz-rich sandstones and
conglomerates
Sand-dominated fan-delta and
slightly deeper water turbidites
(previously quartzose lithofacies of
the Ciletuh Formation)

Ciemas
Formation

Ciletuh
Formation

82 83 84

82 83 84

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Ciletuh Formation
Volcanic breccias and conglomerates
with basalts, volcaniclastic
turbidites, metamorphic rocks
Rare Middle Eocene fossils

Hall et al., 2007

85 86 87

85 86 87

Paleogene Setting

Clements & Hall, 2007

Arc, flexural basin, shelf
88 89 90

88 89 90

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Modern Analogue

Late Oligocene-Early Miocene

Widespread subaerial volcanism
throughout Java

Hall et al., 2007 Clements & Hall, 2007

91 92 93

91 92 93

Jampang and equivalents: West Java SEQUENCE THREE

Early–Middle Miocene
Little volcanic activity
Widespread carbonate deposition

94 95 96 Southern Mountains Zone

94 95 96

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Late Neogene in Java

• At about 12-10 Ma arc volcanic activity re-

commenced in West Java
• Significant contractional deformation in Late
Miocene
• Timing still uncertain
• Appears to become younger eastwards
• Modern arc formed 50 km north of the Southern
Mountains volcanic arc

There was widespread carbonate deposition and little volcanism in the Middle Miocene Clements & Hall, 2007
97 98 99

97 98 99

Neogene Thrusting
Java emergent from Late Miocene
Major thrusting of young age
Many steep dips
Hall et al., 2007

100 Ciletuh
101 Thrust Cimandiri: inactive thrust fault
102

100 101 102

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

Palu-Koro Fault
Rajamandala Limestones

Possible
interpretations of
field relations

Cimandiri
103 Fault 104
Hall et al., 2007
105
Hall et al., 2007

103 104 105

Central Java Central Java

• Deepest structural level

• Basement exposed: ophiolites and HP-LT Basement exposed
metamorphic rocks accreted in Cretaceous, Structurally high block ?
Conjugate normal faults ?
probably as a result of collision of continental Arc removed by erosion ?
block
• No Paleogene arc

Hall et al., 2007

106 107 108

106 107 108

© Robert Hall, 2009 Sumatra and Java 18

CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

East Java Wonosari Limestones

Batu Agung Escarpment
• Structure apparently simple
• Dips in Southern Mountains generally to the Yogyakarta

south

Wonosari Plain

Indian Ocean
East Java: Locally some steep dips due to slumping
109 110 111

109 110 111

Java Tectonics West Java cross section

• Arc in Southern Mountains from Eocene to Early

Miocene
• Flexural basin to north
• Arc thrust northwards from (?) Late Miocene
• Arc removed by erosion in Central Java where
deepest structural level exposed
• Deformation may be proceeding eastwards
• Age of thrusting still uncertain
• Late Miocene – 7-8 Ma looking most probable
• CAUSE ??
112 113 114

112 113 114

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CENOZOIC TECTONICS OF SE ASIA Problems and Models

2000
Kendeng Late Miocene arc was close to position of Paleogene arc.
Later thrusting (7-8 Ma)
1500

gravity low Recent arc moved about 50 km north (away from the trench)
1000

750

500

250

-250

-500

µms-2

0 50 100

kilometres

Progo-Muria Lineament Late Oligocene continental shelf

Smyth et al., 2007 edge from Hamilton (1979)
Recent arc
Continen
tal shel Our shelf edge
f edge

Cretaceo
us accr
eted op
hiolitic
Archea and arc
n Contin rocks
ental Cr
ust

Eocene to Early Miocene arc

S wave velocity anomalies at 35-70 km (Widiyantoro 2006)
115 116 117

115 116 117

Cause of Deformation Java: Summary

• Archean crust beneath Southern Mountains in

East Java
Slab window formation due to • Subduction initiated at Java Trench in Middle
attempted ocean ‘plateau’ Eocene
• Eocene-Miocene (42-18 Ma) volcanism was
subduction extensive, explosive and of Plinian-type
• At 20 ± 1 Ma Toba-scale Semilir eruption
• Kendeng Depocentre deep sediment-filled (10
km) flexural depression
• Sediments in south part of East Java do not
have a Sundaland provenance
118 119

118 119

© Robert Hall, 2009 Sumatra and Java 20