The Indo-Australian plate is or was a major tectonic plate. It is in the process of separation into three plates, and may be currently separated into more than one plate. It contains the continent of Australia, its surrounding ocean and extends north-west to include the Indian subcontinent and the adjacent waters.
Formation
editIt was formed by the fusion of the then Indian and the then Australian plates approximately 43 million years ago.[1] The fusion happened when the mid-ocean ridge in the Indian Ocean, which separated the two plates, ceased spreading.[2]
Regions
editAustralia-New Guinea (Mainland Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania), the Indian subcontinent, and Zealandia (New Caledonia, New Zealand, and Norfolk Island) are all fragments of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. As the ocean floor broke apart, these land masses fragmented from one another, and for a time these centers were thought to be dormant and fused into a single plate. However, research in the early 21st century indicates plate separation of the Indo-Australian plate may have already occurred.[3][4][5][6]
Characteristics
editThe eastern side of the plate is the convergent boundary with the Pacific plate. The Pacific plate sinks below the Australian plate and forms the Kermadec Trench and the island arcs of Tonga and Kermadec. New Zealand is situated along the southeastern boundary of the plate, which with New Caledonia makes up the southern and northern ends of the ancient landmass of Zealandia, which separated from Australia 85 million years ago. The central part of Zealandia sank under the sea.
The southern margin of the plate forms a divergent boundary with the Antarctic plate. The western side is subdivided by the Indian plate that borders the Arabian plate to the north and the African plate to the south. The northern margin of the Indian plate forms a convergent boundary with the Eurasian plate, which constitutes the active orogenic process of the Himalayas and the Hindukush mountains.
The northeast side of the Australian plate forms a subduction boundary with the Eurasian plate in the Indian Ocean between the borders of Bangladesh and Burma and to the southwest of the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Along the northern Ninety East Ridge under the Indian Ocean there appears to be a weakness zone where the Indian and Australian plates are going different ways.[4][6] The subsidence boundary through Indonesia is reflected in the Wallace line.
Plate movements
editThe eastern part (Australian plate) is moving northward at the rate of 5.6 cm (2.2 in) per year while the western part (Indian plate) is moving only at the rate of 3.7 cm (1.5 in) per year due to the impediment of the Himalayas. In terms of the middle of India and Australia's landmasses, Australia is moving northward at 3 cm (1.2 in) per year relative to India.[4] This differential movement has resulted in the compression of the former plate near its centre at Sumatra and the division into the separate Indian and Australian plates again.[7][6]
A third plate, known as the Capricorn plate, may also be separating off the western side of the Indian plate as part of the continued breakup of the Indo-Australian plate.[8]
Separation
editThere is good evidence that the Indo-Australian plate is in the process of separation into new plates.[9]: 4648 Recent studies, and evidence from seismic events such as the 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes, suggest that the Indo-Australian plate may have already broken up into two or three separate plates due primarily to stresses induced by the collision of the Indo-Australian plate with Eurasia along what later became the Himalayas,[10][11] and that the Indian plate and Australian plate may have been separate for at least 3 million years ago.[3]
Contemporary models suggest at present there is a deformation zone between the Indian and Australian plates, with both earthquake and global satellite navigation system data indicating that India and Australia are not moving on the same vectors northward.[4][6] In due course, some expect a well defined localized boundary to reform between the Indian and Australian plates.[5] Studies show the Ninetyeast Ridge has active faulting along its whole length so that while the simplest explanation is that the Indian and Australian plates have already separated here, it remains possible that only the Capricorn plate has separated from them.[9]: 4667
References
edit- ^ "The Indo-Australian Plate". austhrutime.com.
- ^ Keep, Myra; Schellart, Wouter P. (2012). "Introduction to the thematic issue on the evolution and dynamics of the Indo-Australian plate". Australian Journal of Earth Sciences. 59, 2012 (6: THEMATIC ISSUE – Evolution and dynamics of the Indo-Australian plate): 807–808. Bibcode:2012AuJES..59..807K. doi:10.1080/08120099.2012.708360. S2CID 128996831.
- ^ a b Stein, Seth; Sella, Giovanni; Okai, Emile A. (2002). "The January 26, 2001 Bhuj Earthquake and the Diffuse Western Boundary of the Indian Plate" (PDF). Plate Boundary Zones. Geodynamics Series. American Geophysical Union. pp. 243–254. doi:10.1029/GD030p0243. ISBN 9781118670446. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d Delescluse, Matthias; Chamot-Rooke, Nicolas (2007). "Instantaneous deformation and kinematics of the India–Australia Plate". Geophysical Journal International. 168 (2): 818–842. Bibcode:2007GeoJI.168..818D. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2006.03181.x.
- ^ a b Yue, H.; Lay, T.; Koper, K. (2012). "En échelon and orthogonal fault ruptures of the 11 April 2012 great intraplate earthquakes". Nature. 490 (7419): 245–249. Bibcode:2012Natur.490..245Y. doi:10.1038/nature11492. PMID 23023129.
- ^ a b c d Delescluse, Matthias; Chamot-Rooke, Nicolas; Cattin, Rodolphe; Fleitout, Luce; Trubienko, Olga; Vigny, Christophe (26 September 2012). "April 2012 intra-oceanic seismicity off Sumatra boosted by the Banda-Aceh megathrust". Nature. 490 (7419): 240–4. Bibcode:2012Natur.490..240D. doi:10.1038/nature11520. PMID 23023134. S2CID 205230868.
- ^ "Earth cracking up under Indian Ocean". New Scientist. 26 September 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- ^ Siegel, Lee (26 September 2012). "Sumatra quake was part of crustal plate breakup: Study shows huge jolt measured 8.7, ripped at least 4 faults". Phys.Org. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ a b Sager, W.W.; Bull, J.M.; Krishna, K.S. (2013). "Active faulting on the Ninetyeast ridge and its relation to deformation of the Indo-Australian plate". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 118 (8): 4648–4668. Bibcode:2013JGRB..118.4648S. doi:10.1002/jgrb.50319.
- ^ "Press Release: An Earth Plate Is Breaking in Two". Columbia University.
- ^ R. R. Hillis, R. D. Müller. Evolution and Dynamics of the Australian Plate