Sediment recycling at convergent plate margins (Indo-Burman Ranges and Andaman-Nicobar Ridge)

Subduction complexes large enough to be exposed subaerially and become significant sources of terrigenous detritus are formed by tectonic accretion above trenches choked with thick sections of remnant-ocean turbidites. They thus need to be connected along strike to a major collision zone, where huge volumes of orogenic detritus are produced and conveyed via a major fluvio-deltaic system to the deep sea. In this article we investigate sediment generation and recycling in the archetype of such settings, the eastern prolongation of the Himalayan collisional system. We illustrate the petrographic and heavy-mineral suites of modern sands produced all along the Indo-Burman–Andaman–Nicobar subduction complex, which includes accreted abyssal-plain sediments overthrust by ophiolites and unconformably overlain by volcaniclastic forearc strata. “Subduction Complex Provenance” is thus composite, and overwhelmingly consists of detritus recycled from largely turbiditic parent rocks (Recycled Clastic Provenance), with local supply from obducted ultramafic and mafic rocks of forearc lithosphere (Ophiolite Provenance) or recycled paleovolcanic to neovolcanic sources (Volcanic Arc Provenance). In order to specifically investigate the effect of recycling, we characterize the diverse detrital signatures of Cenozoic sandstones originally deposited during subsequent stages of “soft” and “hard” Himalayan collision and presently exposed from Bangladesh to the Andaman Islands, and discuss the reasons for compositional discrepancies between parent sandstones and their recycled daughter sands. Long-distance, multistep and multicyclic sediment transfer along and across convergent plate boundaries follows complex trajectories in space and time, which must be resolved whenever we want to obtain a reasonably faithful paleogeographic reconstruction for the recent and less recent geological past

Paleogeography of the West Burma Block and the eastern Neotethys Ocean: Constraints from Cenozoic sediments shed onto the Andaman-Nicobar ophiolites

The Andaman and Nicobar ophiolites, in the forearc of the western Sunda subduction zone, underwent enigmatic, rapid Cenozoic vertical motions: shallow-water sediments with abundant arc debris characterize the middle Paleocene–middle Eocene and are under- and overlain by significantly deeper sediments. Recent paleomagnetic results revealed a near-equatorial paleolatitude of the West Burma Block and the associated subduction zone, at a similar latitude as the Andaman forearc until the early Eocene, providing a new avenue toward explaining the unusual stratigraphy. Here, we studied the provenance of the clastic sediments of the Andaman-Nicobar accretionary ridge using petrography, geochemistry, and detrital zircon geochronology. We found that the Paleocene-Eocene Namunagarh Grit is likely to be derived from a then proximal, 60 Ma old arc that was likely located in the ocean to the north (present-day east) of the West Burma Block, west of Andaman-Nicobar. The Oligocene–lower Miocene East Andaman Flysch contains West Burma Block debris that traveled much farther and mixed with sediments derived from Sundaland. The West Andaman and Great Nicobar Flysch have an additional Himalayan source consistent with derivation from the downgoing plate. We interpret this history as reflecting the late Paleocene–early Eocene collision of the West Burma Block, likely then part of the Australian Plate, with the Andaman forearc causing uplift and proximal sedimentation shed from the colliding arc. Subsequent northward motion of the West Burma Block caused subsidence of the Andaman forarc and N-S opening of the Andaman Sea, which opened a pathway for Sundaland-derived sediments to reach the Andaman ophiolites. The recently proposed high Cenozoic mobility of the West Burma Block remains to be reconciled in detail with geological observations in Myanmar and Sundaland, but our results show that this scenario provides ample opportunity to explain the previously enigmatic stratigraphic evolution of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Paleogeography of the West Burma Block and the eastern Neotethys Ocean: Constraints from Cenozoic sediments shed onto the Andaman-Nicobar ophiolites

The Andaman and Nicobar ophiolites, in the forearc of the western Sunda subduction zone, underwent enigmatic, rapid Cenozoic vertical motions: shallow-water sediments with abundant arc debris characterize the middle Paleocene–middle Eocene and are under- and overlain by significantly deeper sediments. Recent paleomagnetic results revealed a near-equatorial paleolatitude of the West Burma Block and the associated subduction zone, at a similar latitude as the Andaman forearc until the early Eocene, providing a new avenue toward explaining the unusual stratigraphy. Here, we studied the provenance of the clastic sediments of the Andaman-Nicobar accretionary ridge using petrography, geochemistry, and detrital zircon geochronology. We found that the Paleocene-Eocene Namunagarh Grit is likely to be derived from a then proximal, 60 Ma old arc that was likely located in the ocean to the north (present-day east) of the West Burma Block, west of Andaman-Nicobar. The Oligocene–lower Miocene East Andaman Flysch contains West Burma Block debris that traveled much farther and mixed with sediments derived from Sundaland. The West Andaman and Great Nicobar Flysch have an additional Himalayan source consistent with derivation from the downgoing plate. We interpret this history as reflecting the late Paleocene–early Eocene collision of the West Burma Block, likely then part of the Australian Plate, with the Andaman forearc causing uplift and proximal sedimentation shed from the colliding arc. Subsequent northward motion of the West Burma Block caused subsidence of the Andaman forarc and N-S opening of the Andaman Sea, which opened a pathway for Sundaland-derived sediments to reach the Andaman ophiolites. The recently proposed high Cenozoic mobility of the West Burma Block remains to be reconciled in detail with geological observations in Myanmar and Sundaland, but our results show that this scenario provides ample opportunity to explain the previously enigmatic stratigraphic evolution of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Geochemical and geochronological record of the Andaman Ophiolite, SE Asia: From back-arc to forearc during subduction polarity reversal?

Ophiolites are widely studied to unravel how new subduction zones form. They may contain crustal and mantle rocks that formed during juvenile stages of intra-oceanic subduction, modifying the pre-existing oceanic lithosphere within which subduction started, and in which a magmatic arc formed upon subduction maturation. Previous geochemical work on the Cretaceous Andaman Ophiolite and its metamorphic sole, located in the forearc of the Sunda subduction zone of south-east Asia, has revealed geochemical signatures that are difficult to reconcile in a single tectonic setting but may rather record different stages in a longer evolution. A recent kinematic reconstruction proposed that the Andaman Ophiolite may have formed during subduction initiation in a former back-arc basin, when the former (Woyla) arc collided with the Sundaland continent. Here, we evaluate whether such a scenario may provide a feasible context to explain the enigmatic geochemical signatures preserved in the Andaman Ophiolite. To this end, we provide new, and review existing geochemical as well as geochronological constraints on the formation of its crustal rocks, as well as the evolution of its mantle portion. We identify mafic magmatic rocks and cogenetic plagiogranites that are consistent with formation in a magmatic arc, whereas other magmatic rocks, as well as metamorphic sole protoliths, have characteristics indicative of a back-arc origin. Three new, and two previous zircon U/Pb ages of arc magmatic rocks give a 99–93 Ma age range, but we also identify an inherited ~105 Ma age. This latter age coincides with Ar/Ar cooling ages of the Andaman metamorphic sole, and with a plagioclase xenocryst age from recent Barren Island volcanics east of Andaman. The geochemical and geochronological constraints of the Andaman ophiolites are straightforwardly explained in the context of the regional kinematic history: (1) The original lithosphere formed in the back-arc basin of the Woyla intra-oceanic arc; (2) Subduction initiation and SSZ ophiolite formation within this basin occurred around or slightly before 105 Ma; (3) This was followed by arc magmatism between 99 and 93 Ma upon subduction maturation

Geochemical and geochronological record of the Andaman Ophiolite, SE Asia: From back-arc to forearc during subduction polarity reversal?

Ophiolites are widely studied to unravel how new subduction zones form. They may contain crustal and mantle rocks that formed during juvenile stages of intra-oceanic subduction, modifying the pre-existing oceanic lithosphere within which subduction started, and in which a magmatic arc formed upon subduction maturation. Previous geochemical work on the Cretaceous Andaman Ophiolite and its metamorphic sole, located in the forearc of the Sunda subduction zone of south-east Asia, has revealed geochemical signatures that are difficult to reconcile in a single tectonic setting but may rather record different stages in a longer evolution. A recent kinematic reconstruction proposed that the Andaman Ophiolite may have formed during subduction initiation in a former back-arc basin, when the former (Woyla) arc collided with the Sundaland continent. Here, we evaluate whether such a scenario may provide a feasible context to explain the enigmatic geochemical signatures preserved in the Andaman Ophiolite. To this end, we provide new, and review existing geochemical as well as geochronological constraints on the formation of its crustal rocks, as well as the evolution of its mantle portion. We identify mafic magmatic rocks and cogenetic plagiogranites that are consistent with formation in a magmatic arc, whereas other magmatic rocks, as well as metamorphic sole protoliths, have characteristics indicative of a back-arc origin. Three new, and two previous zircon U/Pb ages of arc magmatic rocks give a 99–93 Ma age range, but we also identify an inherited ~105 Ma age. This latter age coincides with Ar/Ar cooling ages of the Andaman metamorphic sole, and with a plagioclase xenocryst age from recent Barren Island volcanics east of Andaman. The geochemical and geochronological constraints of the Andaman ophiolites are straightforwardly explained in the context of the regional kinematic history: (1) The original lithosphere formed in the back-arc basin of the Woyla intra-oceanic arc; (2) Subduction initiation and SSZ ophiolite formation within this basin occurred around or slightly before 105 Ma; (3) This was followed by arc magmatism between 99 and 93 Ma upon subduction maturation

Paleogeography of the West Burma Block and the eastern Neotethys Ocean: Constraints from Cenozoic sediments shed onto the Andaman-Nicobar ophiolites

The Andaman and Nicobar ophiolites, in the forearc of the western Sunda subduction zone, underwent enigmatic, rapid Cenozoic vertical motions: shallow-water sediments with abundant arc debris characterize the middle Paleocene–middle Eocene and are under- and overlain by significantly deeper sediments. Recent paleomagnetic results revealed a near-equatorial paleolatitude of the West Burma Block and the associated subduction zone, at a similar latitude as the Andaman forearc until the early Eocene, providing a new avenue toward explaining the unusual stratigraphy. Here, we studied the provenance of the clastic sediments of the Andaman-Nicobar accretionary ridge using petrography, geochemistry, and detrital zircon geochronology. We found that the Paleocene-Eocene Namunagarh Grit is likely to be derived from a then proximal, 60 Ma old arc that was likely located in the ocean to the north (present-day east) of the West Burma Block, west of Andaman-Nicobar. The Oligocene–lower Miocene East Andaman Flysch contains West Burma Block debris that traveled much farther and mixed with sediments derived from Sundaland. The West Andaman and Great Nicobar Flysch have an additional Himalayan source consistent with derivation from the downgoing plate. We interpret this history as reflecting the late Paleocene–early Eocene collision of the West Burma Block, likely then part of the Australian Plate, with the Andaman forearc causing uplift and proximal sedimentation shed from the colliding arc. Subsequent northward motion of the West Burma Block caused subsidence of the Andaman forarc and N-S opening of the Andaman Sea, which opened a pathway for Sundaland-derived sediments to reach the Andaman ophiolites. The recently proposed high Cenozoic mobility of the West Burma Block remains to be reconciled in detail with geological observations in Myanmar and Sundaland, but our results show that this scenario provides ample opportunity to explain the previously enigmatic stratigraphic evolution of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands