Continental Margin Dynamics in the Indian Ocean
Summary
The continental margins of the Indian Ocean encompass a mosaic of tectonic settings, ranging from hyper-extended passive margins to nascent subduction zones. Following the breakup of Gondwana, rifting and magmatic phases shaped the western and southern margins, giving rise to features such as the Laxmi and Chagos–Laccadive ridges. Sediment dispersal systems responded to fluctuating sea levels and monsoonal intensification, depositing thick sequences in basins such as the Indus and Bengal. More recent tectonic reorganisation has produced inverted structures and subtle re-activation of faults, while evolving plate motions continue to influence margin uplift and subsidence. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for assessing seismic and tsunami hazards, reconstructing past climate archives and guiding hydrocarbon and mineral exploration.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have revealed evidence for a relict subduction initiation event along what was previously considered a passive north-west margin. Geochemical and isotopic signatures obtained from igneous crust in the Laxmi basin display affinities with forearc settings, indicating that a short-lived Cretaceous–Palaeogene subduction zone formed and then stalled. Integrated geophysical imaging clarifies crustal architecture and necessitates a reappraisal of early Indian Ocean opening models, linking plate reorganisation to broader Gondwana fragmentation processes.
Continental Margin Dynamics in the Indian Ocean publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in continental margin dynamics in the indian ocean across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Passive continental margin: A tectonically quiet transition zone between continental and oceanic crust formed by rifting and seafloor spreading.
Subduction initiation: The onset of one tectonic plate descending beneath another, often marked by distinctive geochemical and structural signatures.
Rift inversion: The process whereby previously extended crust is later compressed, reactivating faults in reverse sense.
Backstripping: A quantitative method to reconstruct past subsidence and uplift by sequentially removing sediment load and compaction effects.
Multichannel seismic reflection: A geophysical technique that images subsurface stratigraphy and structure using reflected acoustic waves recorded on multiple receivers.
References
- Relict subduction initiation along a passive margin in the northwest Indian Ocean. Nature Communications (2019).
- Geodynamic evolution of the offshore Indus Basin Pakistan: the western Indian Plate Passive Continental Margin. Geophysical Journal International (2019).
- Cretaceous–Paleocene extension at the southwestern continental margin of India and opening of the Laccadive basin: constraints from geophysical data. Solid Earth (SE) (2024).
- The Volcanic Rocks and Hydrocarbon Accumulation in the Offshore Indus Basin, Pakistan. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (2024).
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