Magnetic anomalies over the Andaman Islands and their geological significance

The Andaman Islands form part of the outer-arc accretionary sedimentary complex belonging to the Andaman–Sumatra active subduction zone. The islands are characterized by thick cover of Neogene sediments along with exposed ophiolite rocks at few places. A regional magnetic survey was carried out for the first time over the Andaman Islands with a view to understand the correlation of anomaly signatures with surface geology of the islands. The residual total field magnetic anomaly maps have revealed distinct magnetic anomalies having intermediate to high amplitude magnetic signatures and correlate with the areas over/close to the exposed ophiolite rocks along the east coast of north, middle and the south Andaman Islands. The 2D modelling of magnetic anomalies along selected E–W profiles across the islands indicate that the ophiolite bodies extend to a depth of about 5–8 km and spatially correlate with the mapped fault/thrust zones.