Tectonics of the ophiolite belt from Naga Hills and Andaman Islands,India

The ophiolitic rocks of Naga Hills-Andaman belt occur as rootless slices, gently dipping over the Paleogene flyschoid sediments, the presence of blue-schists in ophiolite melange indicates an involvement of the subduction process. Subduction was initiated prior to mid-Eocene as proved by the contemporaneous lower age limit of ophiolite-derived cover sediment as against the accreted ophiolites and olistostromal trench sediment. During the late Oligocene terminal collision between the Indian and Sino-Burmese blocks, basement slivers from the Sino-Burmese block, accreted ophiolites and trench sediments from the subduction zone were thrust westward as nappe and emplaced over the down-going Indian plate. The geometry of the ophiolites and the presence of a narrow negative gravity anomaly flanking their map extent, run counter to the conventional view that the Naga-Andaman belt marks the location of the suture. The root-zone of the ophiolite nappe representing the suture is marked by a partially-exposed eastern ophiolite belt of the same age and gravity-high zone, passing through central Burma-Sumatra-Java. The ophiolites of the Andaman and Naga Hills are also conventionally linked with the subduction activity, west of Andaman islands. This activity began only in late Miocene, much later than onland emplacement of the ophiolites; it further developed west of the suture in its southern part. Post-collisional northward movement of the Indian plate subparallel to the suture, also developed leaky dextral transcurrent faults close to the suture and caused Neogene-Quatemary volcanism in central Burma and elsewhere.     

Geochemical cycling during subduction initiation: Evidence from serpentinized mantle wedge peridotite in the south Andaman ophiolite suite

The ophiolite suite from south Andaman Islands forms part of the Tethyan Ophiolite Belt and preserves the remnants of an ideal ophiolite sequence comprising a basal serpentinized and tectonised mantle peridotite followed by ultramafic and mafic cumulate units, basaltic dykes and spilitic pillow basalts interlayered with arkosic wacke. Here, we present new major, trace, rare earth(REE) and platinum group(PGE) element data for serpentinized and metasomatized peridotites(dunites) exposed in south Andaman representing the tectonized mantle section of the ophiolite suite. Geochemical features of the studied rocks, marked by Al_2 O_3/TiO_2 23, LILE-LREE enrichment, HFSE depletion, and U-shaped chondrite-normalized REE patterns with(La/Sm)N 1 and(Gd/Yb)N 1, suggest contributions from boninitic mantle melts. These observations substantiate a subduction initiation process ensued by rapid slab roll-back with extension and seafloor spreading in an intraoceanic fore-arc regime. The boninitic composition of the serpentinized peridotites corroborate fluid and melt interaction with mantle manifested in terms of(i) hydration, metasomatism and serpentinization of depleted, MORB-type, sub-arc wedge mantle residual after repeated melt extraction; and(ii) refertilization of refractory mantle peridotite by boninitic melts derived at the initial stage of intraoceanic subduction. Serpentinized and metasomatized mantle dunites in this study record both MOR and intraoceanic arc signatures collectively suggesting suprasubduction zone affinity. The elevated abundances of Pd(4.4-12.2 ppb) with highΣPPGE/∑IPGE(2-3) and Pd/Ir(2-5.5) ratios are in accordance with extensive melt-rock interaction through percolation of boninitic melts enriched in fluid-fluxed LILE-LREE into the depleted mantle after multiple episodes of melt extraction. The high Pd contents with relatively lower Ir concentrations of the samples are analogous to characteristic PGE signatures of boninitic magmas and might have resulted by the infiltration of boninitic melts into the depleted and residual mantle wedge peridotite during fore-arc extension at the initial stage of intraoceanic subduction. The PGE patterns with high Os + Ir(2-8.6 ppb)and Ru(2.8-8.4 ppb) also suggest mantle rejuvenation by infiltration of melts derived by high degree of mantle melting. The trace, REE and PGE data presented in our study collectively reflect heterogeneous mantle compositions and provide insights into ocean-crust-mantle interaction and associated geochemical cycling within a suprasubduction zone regime.     

High-Ti type N-MORB parentage of basalts from the south Andaman ophiolite suite,India

A complete dismembered sequence of ophiolite is well exposed in the south Andaman region that mainly comprises ultramafic cumulates, serpentinite mafic plutonic and dyke rocks, pillow lava, radiolarian chert, and plagiogranite. Pillow lavas of basaltic composition occupy a major part of the Andaman ophiolite suite (AOS). These basalts are well exposed all along the east coast of southern part of the south AOS. Although these basalts are altered due to low-grade metamorphism and late hydrothermal processes, their igneous textures are still preserved. These basalts are mostly either aphyric or phyric in nature. Aphyric type exhibits intersertal or variolitic textures, whereas phyric variety shows porphyritic or sub-ophitic textures. The content of alkalies and silica classify these basalts as sub-alkaline basalts and alkaline basalts. A few samples show basaltic andesite, trachy-basalt, or basanitic chemical composition. High-field strength element (HFSE) geochemistry suggests that studied basalt samples are probably derived from similar parental magmas. Al₂O₃/TiO₂ and CaO/TiO₂ ratios classify these basalts as high-Ti type basalt. On the basis of these ratios and many discriminant functions and diagrams, it is suggested that the studied basalts, associated with Andaman ophiolite suite, were derived from magma similar to N-MORB and emplaced in the mid-oceanic ridge tectonic setting.     

Collisional emplacement history of the Naga-Andaman ophiolites and the position of the eastern Indian suture

Dismembered late Mesozoic ophiolites occur in two parallel belts along the eastern margin of the Indian Plate. The Eastern Belt, closely following the magmatic arc of the Central Burma Basin, coincides with a zone of high gravity. It is considered to mark a zone of steeply dipping mafic–ultramafic rocks and continental metamorphic rocks, which are the locus of two closely juxtaposed sutures. In contrast, the Western Belt, which follows the eastern margin of the Indo-Burma Range and the Andaman outer-island-arc, broadly follows a zone of negative gravity anomalies. Here the ophiolites occur mainly as rootless subhorizontal bodies overlying Eocene–Oligocene flyschoid sediments. Two sets of ophiolites that were accreted during the Early Cretaceous and mid-Eocene are juxtaposed in this belt. These are inferred to be westward propagated nappes from the Eastern Belt, emplaced during the late Oligocene collision between the Burmese and Indo-Burma-Andaman microcontinents.Ophiolite occurrences in the Andaman Islands belong to the Western Belt and are generally interpreted as upthrust oceanic crust, accreted due to prolonged subduction activity to the west of the island arc. This phase of subduction began only in the late Miocene and thus could not have produced the ophiolitic rocks, which were accreted in the late Early Eocene.     

Greenschist-facies sub-ophiolitic metamorphic rocks of Andaman Islands,Burma–Java subduction complex

Sub-ophiolitic greenschist facies metamorphic rocks occur at the sole of ophiolite slices and as blocks in the mélange zone beneath the Andaman ophiolite. These are represented by metabasics as actinolite schist to actinolite–chlorite schist and metasediments as garnetiferous quartzo-feldspathic mica–chlorite schist and piemontite quartzite to piemontite bearing quartz–muscovite–chlorite schist to muscovite–quartz-chlorite schist. Actinolite occurs along the schistosity and also as porphyroblasts. Syn to post-tectonic garnet shows no compositional zoning and represent almandine–spessartine solid solution (Alm_44–47, Sps_23–27, Gros_13–17, Pyr_9–10). The metabasics are enriched in LILE and depleted in Zr and Y compared to N-MORB.The lithological features suggest that residual heat was the main heat source for greenschist-facies metamorphism. Top part of the subducting slab and overlying trench sediments were metamorphosed and dislocated by the close spaced thrusts in an accretionary prism setting. The field association indicates that metamorphism and the uplift of metamorphic rocks along with ophiolite slices were bracketed in between Cretaceous and Oligocene period. These processes were later than the Pre-Cretaceous emplacement of the ophiolites of Sumatra and Java.     

Petrochemical and petrotectonic characterisation of ophiolitic volcanics from Great Nicobar island Andaman-Sumatra belt

In Great Nicobar island ophiolite is restricted to the eastern coast of the island and occur as small isolated out crops in the terrain of Oligocene sediments. The ophiolitic rocks are represented by pillowed basalt, massive andesite and pyroclastic andesite. These volcanics represent dismembered members of the upper part of the ophiolite. Basalt is porphyritic in nature where phenocrysts of augite and plagioclase laths are set in a fine grained glassy to chloritic matrix. Andesites consists of phenocrysts of augite, altered feldspar and minor quartz which are set in ground mass of epidote-chlorite glass. Trace element and REE pattern suggests more fertile mantle source for andesite than that of basalt. Trace element characteristics indicate that the andesites and basalts were possibly derived from the same melt where andesite represents the more fractionated product.In Andaman Islands dismembered ophiolite with complete ophiolite stratigraphy are found only within the Eocene sediments. But the field disposition suggests that in Great Nicobar emplacement of the ophiolite continued even after the Oligocene sedimentation. The characters of the ophiolitic rocks in Great Nicobar island are similar to that of the Sunda outer arc ridge.     

Aeromagnetic signatures over western Marie Byrd Land provide insight into magmatic arc basement, mafic magmatism and structure of the Eastern Ross Sea Rift flank

Aeromagnetic signatures over the Edward VII Peninsula (E7) provide new insight into the largely ice-covered and unexplored eastern flank of the Ross Sea Rift (RSR). Positive anomalies, 10–40 km in wavelength and with amplitudes ranging from 50 to 500 nT could reveal buried Late Devonian(?)–Early Carboniferous Ford Granodiorite plutons. This is suggested by similar magnetic signature over exposed, coeval Admiralty Intrusives of the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM). Geochemical data from mid-Cretaceous Byrd Coast Granite, contact metamorphic effects on Swanson Formation and hornblende-bearing granitoid dredge samples strengthen this magnetic interpretation, making alternative explanations less probable. These magnetic anomalies over formerly adjacent TAM and western Marie Byrd Land (wMBL) terranes resemble signatures typically observed over magnetite-rich magmatic arc plutons. Shorter wavelength (5 km) 150 nT anomalies could speculatively mark mid-Cretaceous mafic dikes of the E7, similar to those exposed over the adjacent Ford Ranges. Anomalies with amplitudes of 100–360 nT over the Sulzberger Bay and at the margin of the Sulzberger Ice Shelf likely reveal mafic Late Cenozoic(?) volcanic rocks emplaced along linear rift fabric trends. Buried volcanic rock at the margin of the interpreted half-graben-like “Sulzberger Ice Shelf Block” is modelled in the Kizer Island area. The volcanic rock is marked by a coincident positive Bouguer gravity anomaly. Late Cenozoic volcanic rocks over the TAM, in the RSR, and beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet exhibit comparable magnetic anomaly signature reflecting regional West Antarctic Rift fabric. Interpreted mafic magmatism of the E7 is likely related to mid-Cretaceous and Late Cenozoic regional crustal extension and possible mantle plume activity over wMBL. Magnetic lineaments of the E7 are enhanced in maximum horizontal gradient of pseudo-gravity, vertical derivative and 3D Euler Deconvolution maps. Apparent vertical offsets in magnetic basement at the location of the lineaments and spatially associated mafic dikes and volcanic rocks result from 2.5D magnetic modelling. A rift-related fault origin for the magnetic lineaments, segmenting the E7 region into horst and graben blocks, is proposed by comparison with offshore seismic reflection, marine gravity, on-land gravity, radio-echo sounding, apatite fission track data and structural geology. The NNW magnetic lineament, which we interpret to mark the eastern RSR shoulder, forms the western margin of the “Alexandra Mountains horst”. This fundamental aeromagnetic feature lies on strike with the Colbeck Trough, a prominent NNW half-graben linked to Late Cretaceous(?) and Cenozoic(?) faulting in the eastern RSR. East–west and north–north–east to NE magnetic trends are also imaged. Magnetic trends, if interpreted as reflecting the signature of rift-related normal faults, would imply N–S to NE crustal extension followed by later northwest–southeast directed extension. NW–SE extension would be compatible with Cenozoic(?) oblique RSR rifting. Previous structural data from the Ford Ranges have, however, been interpreted to indicate that both Cretaceous and Cenozoic extensions were N–S to NE–SW directed.     

Modélisation magnétique de la suture ophiolitique de Bou Azzer–El Graara (Anti-Atlas central,Maroc). Implications sur la reconstitution géodynamique panafricaine

Aeromagnetic data of the Anti-Atlas Mountains show an important magnetic anomaly along the ‘Major Anti-Atlas Fault’, produced by different mafic and ultramafic rocks of a Neoproterozoic ophiolite complex. The magnetic modelling of Bou Azzer–El Graara ophiolitic suture shows a deep-seated anomaly through the upper continental crust corresponding to a north-dipping subduction. The polarity of the Pan-African subduction in the Anti-Atlas is therefore compatible with the contemporaneous Pan-African orogenic belts, where polarity of subduction dipped away from the West African Craton during the amalgamation of Western Gondwana. To cite this article: A. Soulaimani et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Chromian spinel-rich black sands from eastern shoreline of Andaman Island,India: Implication for source characteristics

Black sands rich in chromian spinel commonly occur in pockets along the eastern shoreline of Andaman Island where various types of peridotites and volcanics belonging to the Andaman ophiolite suite are exposed in close vicinity. The chemistry of these detrital chromian spinels has been extensively used here in identifying the source rocks vis-à-vis deciphering the source characteristics. The composition of the chromian spinels (Cr#: 0.20–0.88, Mg#: 0.26–0.77, Al ₂ O ₃: 5.04–48.21 wt.%, TiO ₂: up to 1.39 wt.% and Fe ²⁺/Fe ³⁺: 1.73–9.12) varies widely signifying multiple sources, of which mantle peridotites and volcanic rocks are relevant in an ophiolitic terrain. The volcanic chromian spinels are relatively fresh, commonly euhedral, sometimes with compositional variations, and contain inclusions in contrast to the mantle peridotitic chromian spinels which are rounded, extensively fractured, and altered. We used a number of geochemical bivariate plots in order to know the provenance protoliths. The volcanic chromian spinels show geochemical characters of MORB, related to spreading centers (either MOR or back-arc) and also boninites/arc-tholeiites, related to active subduction. On the other hand, the peridotitic spinels indicate partially depleted lherzolite and depleted harzburgite source of the ophiolite suite.     

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of the Late Cretaceous Haji‐Abad ophiolite (Outer Zagros Ophiolite Belt,Iran): implications for geodynamics of the Bitlis–Zagros suture zone

The Haji‐Abad ophiolite in SW Iran (Outer Zagros Ophiolite Belt) is a remnant of the Late Cretaceous supra‐subduction zone ophiolites along the Bitlis–Zagros suture zone of southern Tethys. These ophiolites are coeval in age with the Late Cretaceous peri‐Arabian ophiolite belt including the Troodos (Cyprus), Kizildag (Turkey), Baer‐Bassit (Syria) and Semail (Oman) in the eastern Mediterranean region, as well as other Late Cretaceous Zagros ophiolites. Mantle tectonites constitute the main lithology of the Haji‐Abad ophiolite and are mostly lherzolites, depleted harzburgite with widespread residual and foliated/discordant dunite lenses. Podiform chromitites are common and are typically enveloped by thin dunitic haloes. Harzburgitic spinels are geochemically characterized by low and/or high Cr number, showing tendency to plot both in depleted abyssal and fore‐arc peridotites fields. Lherzolites are less refractory with slightly higher bulk REE contents and characterized by 7–12% partial melting of a spinel lherzolitic source whereas depleted harzburgites have very low abundances of REE and represented by more than 17% partial melting. The Haji‐Abad ophiolite crustal sequences are characterized by ultramafic cumulates and volcanic rocks. The volcanic rocks comprise pillow lavas and massive lava flows with basaltic to more‐evolved dacitic composition. The geochemistry and petrology of the Haji‐Abad volcanic rocks show a magmatic progression from early‐erupted E‐MORB‐type pillow lavas to late‐stages boninitic lavas. The E‐MORB‐type lavas have LREE‐enriched patterns without (or with slight) depletion in Nb–Ta. Boninitic lavas are highly depleted in bulk REEs and are represented by strong LREE‐depleted patterns and Nb–Ta negative anomalies. Tonalitic and plagiogranitic intrusions of small size, with calc‐alkaline signature, are common in the ophiolite complex. The Late Cretaceous Tethyan ophiolites like those at the Troodos, eastern Mediterranean, Oman and Zagros show similar ages and geochemical signatures, suggesting widespread supra‐subduction zone magmatism in all Neotethyan ophiolites during the Late Cretaceous. The geochemical patterns of the Haji‐Abad ophiolites as well as those of other Late Cretaceous Tethyan ophiolites, reflect a fore‐arc tectonic setting for the generation of the magmatic rocks in the southern branch of Neotethys during the Late Cretaceous. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The minor and trace element geochemistry of volcanic rocks from Truk,Ponape and Kusaie,Eastern Caroline Islands; the evolution of a young hot spot trace across Old Pacific Ocean Crust

Recent paleomagnetic and K-Ar age dating studies in the Caroline Islands show that the high volcanic islands of Truk, Panape and Kusaie formed at the same shallow latitude and display a progression of ages increasing westward from 1 m.y. (Kusaie), through 6 m.y. (Ponape) to 12 m.y. (Truk). These data suggest that the islands were formed by a young hotspot or melting anomaly. One hundred and fifty volcanic rocks from these three islands have been analysed for major and 15 trace elements and results indicate that shield-building lavas on each island (1) evolved by low-pressure open-system fractional crystallisation of a small range of partial melts and (2) became more alkaline with time from Truk to Kusaie. The secular geochemical variation along the Caroline chain may represent a hotspot trace whose magma production was slowly declining over the past 14 m.y.     

Petrological and geochemical characteristics of the Samar Ophiolite ultramafic section: implications on the origins of the ophiolites in Samar and Leyte islands,Philippines

Cretaceous ophiolites and ophiolitic fragments occur in the Samar and Leyte islands in eastern central Philippines. The Samar Ophiolite is a complete crust–mantle sequence exposed in southern Samar, whereas the Tacloban and Malitbog ophiolite complexes are, respectively, located in the northeastern and southwestern portions of the nearby Leyte island. Despite the close proximity of these islands, the genetic relationship of these ophiolites and ophiolitic complexes, if any, remains to be elucidated. We present here new petrographic and geochemical data on the harzburgites and dunites of the ultramafic section of the Samar Ophiolite. These mantle peridotites are highly depleted residues which have low modal pyroxene content, high spinel Cr# (=0.62–0.79), and slightly enriched light rare earth element abundance with depletion in Zr and Ti. Such characteristics are typical of supra-subduction zone peridotites and strongly contrast with the abyssal signatures of the Tacloban and Malitbog ophiolite complexes. The absence of a structure between these adjacent ophiolite fragments initially hints that they form a single oceanic crust. However, with our new results, we suggest other possible mechanisms that could explain the relationship of these ophiolites.     

Emplacement of Semail–Emirates ophiolite at ridge–trench collision

The Oman‐Emirates is the largest and best‐exposed ophiolite; consequently, it has attracted significant interest among scientists, together with serious conflicts. Most geologists regard this ophiolite as having formed in an intra‐oceanic subduction zone before being accreted to the Arabian continent. Here, we propose an alternative scenario, supported by detailed field observations and integrated geophysics. The smaller Emirates part of the ophiolite was forced into a nearby continent, in the pre‐collision stage of Tethyan closure. The contraction led to the exhumation of the mantle floor of segmented basins accreted in a rifted system similar to the present‐day Gulf of California. The implied high temperature–high pressure metamorphism and the range of geochemical signatures were introduced during the process of rifting, whereas the larger Oman ophiolite was emplaced by obduction onto and along the subducting continental shore. This Ridge–Trench–Transform system might call for a new process to obduct over continents in particular Tethyan ophiolites.     

Ground water potential in fractured aquifers of Ophiolite formations,Port Blair,South Andaman Islands using Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES)

Ground water occurs in weathered formations of unsaturated zone and fractured rocks of saturated zone. The ground water occurring in the unsaturated zone is not sustainable while the ground water occurring in the fractured rocks are sustainable if properly exploited. But, targeting the productive fractured rocks needs careful evaluation and systematic approach of geophysical survey owing to the heterogeneity, magmatic and metamorphic activities of multiple episodes of rocks. Hence, judicious planning in ground water exploration is warranted because of the huge money involved in drilling, manpower and time factor. In this context, an attempt has been made to locate the fractured rocks of ground water potential in the Ophiolite formations of Port Blair, South Andaman Islands using Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) since the ground water database of Andaman and Nicobar islands is poor as not much work has been carried out so far and the ground water is not properly utilised. The ERT have been carried out along different azimuth of fractures to ascertain the resistivities in vertical and horizontal direction and the conductivity and/or the resistivity of the varied fractures was also evaluated by spot VES. The 2-D Electrical Resistivity Images in conjunction with the geoelectrical parameters brought out by VES revealed that E-W fractures are expected to be productive fractures showing more conductivity as it is compared with the NE-SW and NW-SE fractures. The potentiality of the E-W fractures was also validated with the borehole data.     

Geophysical evidence for an extensive Pie de Palo Complex mafic–ultramafic belt,San Juan,Argentina

The recent completion of a high-resolution aeromagnetic survey over the Pie de Palo uplift of the western Sierras Pampeanas has revealed an area of large magnetic anomalies associated with the Pie de Palo Complex. The Las Pirquitas thrust, which has transported and uplifted the Pie de Palo Complex, is recognized for at least 30 km in a roughly NE direction along the western boundary of the Pie de Palo Complex, beyond its limited outcrop. The type of sediments of the Caucete Group in the footwall of the Las Pirquitas thrust, which are regarded as the leading edge of the Precordillera terrane, are associated with much less pronounced magnetic anomalies.In addition, a conspicuous, NNE trending, broad magnetic high stands out in the survey, several kilometers to the east of the main outcrops of the Pie de Palo Complex; this broad magnetic anomaly bisects the Pie de Palo basement block, and continues further south at least as far as 32°S, the southern boundary of the latest aeromagnetic survey. This magnetic anomaly is interpreted to represent a structure corresponding to the Grenvillian Precordillera–Pie de Palo tectonic boundary zone, and would comprise the buried largest part of the mafic–ultramafic belt.The geophysical model of the magnetic data indicates that the boundary zone dips to the east, possibly suggesting the existence of a set of synthetic east dipping, west-verging thrusts, of which only one major structure (Las Pirquitas thrust) is exposed; the possibility of other slivers of upthrust boundary zone material cannot be excluded. It is considered that the Pie de Palo Complex represents a small sliver upthrust from the unexposed boundary zone material (containing highly magnetic mafic–ultramafic rocks).The east-dipping, west verging structures associated with the Pie de Palo Complex are suggested to represent an Ordovician reactivation of a Grenvillian suture zone developed when the Precordillera basement and Pie de Palo terrane docked; this reactivation probably resulted from the collision of the Cuyania terrane onto the western margin of Gondwana.     

阿尔金断裂南缘约马克其镁铁-超镁铁岩的性质和年代学研究

阿尔金南缘断裂带中的约马克其镁铁-超镁铁岩具有蛇绿岩的岩石组合特征,是卷入到阿尔金断裂带的蛇绿岩片,其下部的超镁铁质组分m/f=9.49~9.64,为镁质超基性岩;上部的镁铁质组分具有与大洋中脊玄武岩类似的REE球粒陨石标准化分布模式和微量元素原始地幔标准化分配模式,在基性岩Zr/Y-Zr和Ti/100-Zr-Y×3环境判别图解中均位于大洋中脊环境。对辉长岩进行锆石LA-ICP-MS原位U-Pb定年,表明该蛇绿岩形成于500.7±1.9Ma的晚寒武世,它们是Rodinia超大陆裂解的产物。约马克其地区铜镍综合异常中的铜异常是由产于蛇绿岩单元上部的玄武岩中铜矿化所致,而镍地球化学异常则是蛇绿岩下部单元超镁铁质组分中含镍蛇纹石引起,因而,约马克其镁铁-超镁铁岩具有找寻与蛇绿岩有关的铜矿床的可能。     

Sveconorwegian igneous complexes beneath the Norwegian–Danish Basin

Gravity and magnetic anomalies have previously been interpreted to indicate strongly magnetic Permian or even Tertiary intrusive bodies beneath the Skagerrak waterway (such as the ‘Skagerrak volcano’) and beneath Silkeborg in Denmark. Our combined modelling of the magnetic and gravity anomalies over these rock bodies indicates that a steep upward magnetisation is required to explain the magnetic anomalies at the surface, reminiscent of the magnetic direction in the Sveconorwegian rocks of the Rogaland Igneous Province in southern Norway. The younger rocks of the Permian Oslo Rift region have intermediate and flat magnetisation that is inadequate to explain the observed magnetic field. The positive part of the Skagerrak aeromagnetic anomaly is continuous with the induced anomalies associated with the eastward extension of the Rogaland Igneous Province. This relation also suggests that rocks of the Rogaland Igneous Province and its offshore extension are responsible for the Skagerrak anomalies. Both the negative, remanence-dominated aeromagnetic anomaly and the positive gravity anomaly can be modelled using constraints from seismic reflection lines and available density data and rock-magnetic properties. A 7 km thick complex of ultramafic/mafic intrusions is located below a southward dipping 1–4 km thick section of Mesozoic sediments and 1–2 km of Palaeozoic sediments. The enormous body of dense, ultramafic/mafic rocks implied by the modelling could be the residue of the parental magma that produced the voluminous Rogaland anorthosites. The application of similar petrophysical properties in the forward modelling of the Silkeborg source body provides an improved explanation of the observed gravity and magnetic anomalies compared with earlier studies. The new model is constrained by magnetic depth estimates (from the Located Euler method) ranging between 6 and 8 km. Forward modelling shows that a model with a reverse magnetic body (anorthosite?) situated above a dense, mafic/ultramafic body may account for the Silkeborg anomalies. The anorthosites may have formed by differentiation of the underlying mafic intrusion, similar to the intrusive relations in the Rogaland Igneous Province. We conclude that there is strong evidence for a Sveconorwegian age for both the Skagerrak and the Silkeborg anomalous rock bodies.     

Magnetic anomalies over thin plates and their analysis

The magnetic anomaly over a two-dimensional thin horizontal plate is similar to the first horizontal derivative of the magnetic anomaly over a thick dipping dike of infinite depth extent but with a different direction of magnetization. Hence, the magnetic anomalies of thin plates may be integrated along the profile and the pseudomagnetic potential anomaly thus obtained may be interpreted using any standard method of interpreting dike anomalies. Expressions for the Fourier amplitude and phase spectra of the magnetic anomaly over a thin plate are also derived and procedures to evaluate the parameters of the plate from the spectra are formulated.     

Chronology of major terrace forming events in the Andaman islands during the last 40 kyr

Major earthquakes that trigger tsunamis are great natural hazards. The devastations caused by the December 26, 2004 Sumatran earthquake, and the March 11, 2011 Japan earthquake, and associated tsunamis will remain in our memories for a long time. Such events reaffirm the need for studying the cause and effects of large earthquakes of the past and to prepare the world better for the future. In such an effort, to understand the pattern of earthquakes and their effects on the geomorphic evolution, we have studied deformation history in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, located in one of the most active convergent margins of the world. Focusing on tectonically formed coastal terraces and determining the timing of their formation from the exposed dead corals, we have been able to reconstruct the history of major earthquakes in these islands for the last 40 kyr. Our results in conjunction with the existing radiocarbon age data from coastal terraces of these islands appear to suggest that the frequency of major earthquakes (M > 7) in the region has increased during the last 9 kyr. In confirmation with some earlier work, we find evidences for a major earthquake and a tsunami between 500-600 cal yr BP and possibly 4 others during 6–9 cal kyr BP. Our results also indicate that there has been a continuous subsidence of the south Andaman Islands.     

Magnetic Anomalies and Basement Structure Around Vizianagaram,Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam Districts of Andhra Pradesh,India

A systematic regional magnetic survey was carried out in the districts of Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam in Andhra pradesh, India comprising an area of 15, 000 sq. km of eastern migmatite zone of Eastern Ghat Mobile Belt. The magnetic anomalies are very noisy, varying between −1300 nT and +700 nT in amplitude and correlate very poorly with the surface geology. Upward continuation of these anomalies brought out distinct magnetic anomaly trends, running along NE-SW on the south and turning later to E-W on the north, consistent with the folding pattern of Eastern Ghats. Based on the termination of anomaly closures and displacement of anomaly trends, five faults, all striking approximately in the N-S direction, were inferred. From inversion of anomaly profiles, it is established that the anomalies are produced by structures in the magnetic basement composed of charnockites.