India‐Asia collision and the Cenozoic slowdown of the Indian plate: Implications for the forces driving plate motions

International audienceThe plate motion of India changed dramatically between 50 and 35 Ma, with the rate of convergence between India and Asia dropping from ∼15 to ∼4 cm/yr. This change is coincident with the onset of the India‐Asia collision, and with a rearrangement of plate boundaries in the Indian Ocean. On the basis of a simple model for the forces exerted upon the edges of the plate and the tractions on the base of the plate, we perform force balance calculations for the precollision and postcollision configurations. We show that the observed Euler poles for the Indian plate are well explained in terms of their locations and magnitudes if (1) the resistive force induced by mountain building in the Himalaya‐Tibet area is ∼5–6 × 1012 N/m, (2) the net force exerted upon the Indian plate by subduction zones is similar in magnitude to the ridge‐push force (∼2.5 × 1012 N/m), and (3) basal tractions exert a resisting force that is linearly proportional to the plate velocity in the hot spot reference frame. The third point implies an asthenospheric viscosity of ∼2–5 × 1019 Pa s, assuming a thickness of 100–150 km. Synthetic Euler poles show that crustal thickening in the Tibetan Plateau was the dominant cause of the Cenozoic slowdown of the Indian plate

Long-term autonomous hydrophones for large-scale hydroacoustic monitoring of the oceans

International audienceWe have developed a set of long-term autonomous hydrophones dedicated to long-term monitoring of low-frequency sounds in the ocean (<120Hz). Deploying arrays of such hydrophones (at least 4 instruments) proves a very efficient approach to monitor acoustic events of geological origin (earthquakes, icequakes), sea state or large baleen whales, over large and remote areas of the world ocean (up to 1000 km between instruments or more). Such approach takes advantage of the high sensitivity of hydrophones and of the long-range acoustic properties of the water column. Our instrument have been designed to be deployed for more than one year, continuously recording the ocean sounds at 240Hz with high dynamic 24-bit resolution

Seafloor seismicity, Antarctic ice-sounds, cetacean vocalizations and long-term ambient sound in the Indian Ocean basin

International audienceThis paper presents the results from the Deflo-hydroacoustic experiment in the Southern Indian Ocean using three autonomous underwater hydrophones, complemented by two permanent hydroacoustic stations. The array monitored for 14 months, from November 2006 to December 2007, a 3000 x 3000 km wide area, encompassing large segments of the three Indian spreading ridges that meet at the Indian Triple Junction. A catalogue of 11 105 acoustic events is derived from the recorded data, of which 55 per cent are located from three hydrophones, 38 per cent from 4, 6 per cent from five and less than 1 per cent by six hydrophones. From a comparison with land-based seismic catalogues, the smallest detected earthquakes are m(b) 2.6 in size, the range of recorded magnitudes is about twice that of land-based networks and the number of detected events is 5-16 times larger. Seismicity patterns vary between the three spreading ridges, with activity mainly focused on transform faults along the fast spreading Southeast Indian Ridge and more evenly distributed along spreading segments and transforms on the slow spreading Central and ultra-slow spreading Southwest Indian ridges; the Central Indian Ridge is the most active of the three with an average of 1.9 events/100 km/month. Along the Sunda Trench, acoustic events mostly radiate from the inner wall of the trench and show a 200-km-long seismic gap between 2 degrees S and the Equator. The array also detected more than 3600 cryogenic events, with different seasonal trends observed for events from the Antarctic margin, compared to those from drifting icebergs at lower (up to 50 degrees S) latitudes. Vocalizations of five species and subspecies of large baleen whales were also observed and exhibit clear seasonal variability. On the three autonomous hydrophones, whale vocalizations dominate sound levels in the 20-30 and 100 Hz frequency bands, whereas earthquakes and ice tremor are a dominant source of ambient sound at frequencies < 20 Hz

India-Asia collision and the Cenozoic slowdown of the Indian plate: Implications for the forces driving plate motions

The plate motion of India changed dramatically between 50 and 35 Ma, with the rate of convergence between India and Asia dropping from ~15 to ~4 cm/yr. This change is coincident with the onset of the India-Asia collision, and with a rearrangement of plate boundaries in the Indian Ocean. On the basis of a simple model for the forces exerted upon the edges of the plate and the tractions on the base of the plate, we perform force balance calculations for the precollision and postcollision configurations. We show that the observed Euler poles for the Indian plate are well explained in terms of their locations and magnitudes if (1) the resistive force induced by mountain building in the Himalaya-Tibet area is ~5–6 × 10^(12) N/m, (2) the net force exerted upon the Indian plate by subduction zones is similar in magnitude to the ridge-push force (~2.5 × 10^(12) N/m), and (3) basal tractions exert a resisting force that is linearly proportional to the plate velocity in the hot spot reference frame. The third point implies an asthenospheric viscosity of ~2–5 × 10^(19) Pa s, assuming a thickness of 100–150 km. Synthetic Euler poles show that crustal thickening in the Tibetan Plateau was the dominant cause of the Cenozoic slowdown of the Indian plate

The tectonic history of the Tasman Sea: A puzzle with 13 pieces

We present a new model for the tectonic evolution of the Tasman Sea based on dense satellite altimetry data and a new shipboard data set. We utilized a combined set of revised magnetic anomaly and fracture zone interpretations to calculate relative motions and their uncertainties between the Australian and the Lord Howe Rise plates from 73.6 Ma to 52 Ma when spreading ceased. From chron 31 (67.7 Ma) to chron 29 (64.0 Ma) the model implies, transpression between the Chesterfield and the Marion plateaus, followed by strike-slip motion. This transpression may have been responsible for the formation of the Capricorn Basin south of the Marion Plateau. Another major tectonic event took place at chron 27 (61.2 Ma), when a counterclockwise change in spreading direction occurred, contemporaneous with a similar event in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The early opening of the Tasman Sea cannot be modeled by a simple two-plate system because (1) rifting in this basin propagated from south to north in several stages and (2) several rifts failed. We identified 13 continental blocks which acted as microplates between 90 Ma and 64 Ma. Our model is constrained by tectonic lineaments visible in the gravity anomaly grid and interpreted as strike-slip faults, by magnetic anomaly, bathymetry and seismic data, and in case of the South Tasman Rise, by the age and affinity of dredged rocks. By combining all this information we derived finite rotations that describe the dispersal of these tectonic elements during the early opening of the Tasman Sea

Building of the Amsterdam-Saint Paul plateau: A 10 Myr history of a ridge-hot spot interaction and variations in the strength of the hot spot source

International audienceThe Amsterdam-Saint Paul plateau results from a 10 Myr interaction between the South East Indian Ridge and the Amsterdam-Saint Paul hot spot. During this period of time, the structure of the plateau changed as a consequence of changes in both the ridge-hot spot relative distance and in the strength of the hot spot source. The joint analysis of gravity-derived crust thickness and bathymetry reveals that the plateau started to form at ~10 Ma by an increase of the crustal production at the ridge axis, due to the nearby hot spot. This phase, which lasted 3-4 Myr, corresponds to a period of a strong hot spot source, maybe due to a high temperature or material flux, and decreasing ridge-hot spot distance. A second phase, between ~6 and ~3 Ma, corresponds to a decrease in the ridge crustal production. During this period, the hot spot center was close to the ridge axis and this reduced magmatic activity suggests a weak hot spot source. At ~3 Ma, the ridge was located approximately above the hot spot center. An increase in the hot spot source strength then resulted in the building of the shallower part of the plateau. The variations of the melt production at the ridge axis through time resulted in variations in crustal thickness but also in changes in the ridge morphology. The two periods of increased melt production correspond to smooth ridge morphology, characterized by axial highs, while the intermediate period corresponds to a rougher, rift-valley morphology. These variations reveal changes in axial thermal structure due to higher melting production rates and temperatures