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Oroclinal Wrench Tectonics of Paleogene Back-Arc Rifting in Western Indonesia

Conference Paper · October 2018

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 PROCEEDINGS PEKAN ILMIAH TAHUNAN IAGI 2018
Hotel Pangeran, Pekanbaru, October 28th – November 1st, 2018

Oroclinal Wrench Tectonics of Paleogene Back-Arc Rifting in Western Indonesia

Salahuddin Husein
Departemen Teknik Geologi FT UGM Yogyakarta

Abstrak – Paleogene rifting of sedimentary basin across western Indonesia have occurred synchronously in mid Eocene. Their
location lies in the back of volcanic arc orogenic axis, particularly along the Sunda Trench, hence known as back-arc basins.
However, their characteristic are varied, e.g. distance from volcanic arc, bounding faults orientation, and basin size,suggesting
they have other controlling factors other than typical subduction tectonics. It appears that pre-existing basement structures plays
an important role in dictating the back-arc basin formation. This paper attempts to examine the regional basement structures those
dictate the basin formation and evolution. Regional gravity map was utilized to define basin boundaries and distribution, and
expanded interpretation is proposed on how those basin were connected each other in certain tectonic framework. For over 50
years, geologists who working in the western Indonesia have recognized a major curvilinear basement structural grains spread
over the Sunda Shelf. They run southward in the northern Sunda Shelf, to be bend toward northeastward in the southern Sunda
Shelf. Those curvilinear grains are named as Sunda Oroclines, and was presumed to be constructed by a series Paleozoic-
Mesozoic sutures and magmatic arcs, whose curved due to collision-induced rotation of western Indonesia and manifested in
wrench tectonics. It appears that the Sunda Oroclines restrains the distribution of back-arc basins, and their wrench tectonics
influenced the basin in-filling and were recorded in basin evolution, by interrupting the on-going syn-rift sedimentation.

Keywords: Sunda Oroclines, Back-arc Basins, Western Indonesia, Sunda Shelf.

Copyright PIT IAGI – 2018. All right reserved

INTRODUCTION geometrically related each other within a particular

arcuate pattern known as Sunda Oroclines. This
Prolific sedimentary basins adjacent to modern
paper attempts to introduce an hypothesis on how
volcanic arc in Western Indonesia have been
those basins were formed on the interplay between
contributing their hydrocarbon reserves for the nation
subduction and strike-slip tectonics.
for over 100 years, and yet their formation were
It is an appeal to mention that there are other
largely simply assigned to back-arc rifting in
basins in Western Indonesia have completely
Paleogene (Hall and Morley, 2004). This view
different mechanism than those two mentioned
perhaps could be applied to basins in Sumatra and
above, and each were unique and occupied their basin
Java, where both island have volcanic arc as their
mechanism to themselves. Melawi and Ketungau
backbone, i.e. North-, Central- and South Sumatra
basins were related to Cretaceous subduction of
basins, as well as Northwest- and Northeast-Java
Luconia Plate toward SW Borneo. Natuna Basins
basins. Other interpretation proposes those basin
were formed as extension of South China Sea
formation to strike-slip tectonics, where could be
opening in Oligocene. Tarakan Basin were related to
applied to those Sumatra and Java basins, as well as
Sulawesi Sea opening in Paleogene. These basins
to southwest Kalimantan basins, i.e. Pembuang and
were not involved in orocline geometries and thus
Biliton basins.
excluded in this discussion.
Inducing tectonic factors in basin formation
were related with the corresponding mechanism and
their regional events. Back-arc basins were assumed
DATA AND METHODS
to be triggered by subduction along Sunda Trench
initiated ca 45 Ma (Middle Eocene). Strike-slip This paper uses extensively on regional free-air
basins were assumed to be triggered by oblique gravity data (Smith & Sandwell, 1997) to observe the
convergence of Indo-Australian Plate to Sundaland, extension of Sunda Oroclines. Outline of Sundaland
which were also related with Sunda Trench backarc basins were drawn based on Pertamina-
subduction. Distinctively, those basins were
 PROCEEDINGS PEKAN ILMIAH TAHUNAN IAGI 2018
Hotel Pangeran, Pekanbaru, October 28th – November 1st, 2018

Beicip (1985). Tectonic reconstruction of Sundalad (1993, 2010) incorporating the escape tectonic model
Oroclines were based on the ideas of Hutchison ( of Tapponnier et al. (1982) proposed the collision of
2010, 2014) and Zahirovic et al. (2014, 2016). India to Eurasia since late Paleocene had caused the
Paleogene clockwise rotation of Sundaland were oroclinal bending of the pre-existing regional fabric
adopted from Daly et al., (1991) with paleomagnetic facilitated by strike-slip faulting parallel to the
evidence supported by Otofuji et al. (2017), whilst geological fabric, particularly for the western part of
the Neogene anticlockwise rotation were adopted the oroclines. He also proposed strain partition
from Hall (1997). working on the oroclines, the outer bends (extrados)
were under extensional tectonic regime, whilst the
inner bends (intrados) were under compressional
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION tectonic regime. In this way, Hutchison have
explained how the backarc sedimentary basins
The term of orocline was coined by Carey
formed during Paleogene throughout Sundaland
(1955), for an orogenic belt that was subjected to
(Figure 2a). For a particular case, Bengkalis Trough
bending, involving continental-scale rotations and
of Central Sumatra Basin was an excellent examples
translations. Interaction of convergence plates in
how this pull-apart extrados have working and
resulting oroclines is a much more complex
forming a sedimentary basin (Moulds, 1989).
geodynamic processes, such as proposed by
Another continental indentation have occurred
Rosenbaum (2014) based on Mediterranean
since Late Oligocene and all the way through
Oroclines. He supposes oroclines were caused by
Neogene by the collision of Australia to the eastern
interplay between continental indentation, trench
margin of Sundaland (Hall, 1997). It was presumed
retreat and slab tearing, all in lithospheric-scale
to be responsible for a more arcuate bending of
deformation.
Sunda Oroclines, by driving the eastern part of
The presence of orocline in western Indonesia
Sundaland northward (Figure 2b). The collision of
have been shown by Westerveld (1936), which he
Australia to eastern part of Sundaland have also
named as Malayan Orogene, built by a series of
promoted further strain partition working in those
basement rocks since Permo-Carboniferous to
backarc extrados basins, brought them another
Cretaceous. Later this orocline was named as
transgressional cyclc that peaked in dominated
Anambas Mountain System by Van Bemmelen
marine environment in Early to Middle Miocene.
(1949), and the classical geosyncline concept was
It appears that the Sunda Oroclines have kept the
applied to explain its orogenic processes. This paper
basin to form and subside, during both continental
proposes the orocline to be named as Sunda
indentation, as they have not considerably changed
Oroclines, as it occupies the core of Sundaland.
the oroclinal kinematics. Therefore, basin inversion
The Sunda Oroclines are well manifested in
which have worked throughout Sundaland at variable
gravity map (Figure 1). Those curvilinears features
time clearly induced by local structures rather than
stretch from Malaysia Peninsula and Sumatra in the
inverse kinematics of the oroclines. Sundaland basin
northwest and west onto central Kalimantan in
inversion were also possibly related to regional
southeast part. They are occupied by relatively high
changes of plate configuration since the last 5 Ma,
gravity attributes, which is probably contributed to
mostly marked by decreasing rate of plate movement
paleosutures and paleo-magmatic arc, as indicated by
and fully collided condition of India and Australia.
Katili (1973) and Pulunggono et al. (1992). Those
curvilinear features of Sunda Oroclines inimitably fit
to geometric distribution of backarc basins of
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Sumatra, Java and Kalimantan. This geometric
relationship fabricates a hypothesis that the The Sunda Oroclines, although its presence
Paleogene back arc rifting were influenced or have been observed since the early Dutch geologists,
affected or controlled by the orocline kinematics. their mechanism and origin are still ambiguous.
Mechanism of the Sunda oroclinal bending Prevailing plate tectonic reconstruction hardly
certainly involves continental indentation. Hutchison invokes their occurrence, as the oroclines traverse
 PROCEEDINGS PEKAN ILMIAH TAHUNAN IAGI 2018
Hotel Pangeran, Pekanbaru, October 28th – November 1st, 2018
several major tectonic blocks or microplates of
different ages in which are seen unfeasible in the
light of mobile plates. Therefore it is necessary to
review the existing plate configuration and
arrangement to fit the occurrence Sunda Oroclines.
However, considering the geometric and temporal
relationship between Sunda Oroclines and
distribution of sedimentary back-arc basins, it is
highly likely that those basins were rifted under the
influences of oroclinal kinematics. Sequential
continental indentation of India and Australia onto
Eurasia have resulted on the oroclinal bending and
consecutively forming the back-arc basins within
their extrados bends.
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 PROCEEDINGS PEKAN ILMIAH TAHUNAN IAGI 2018
Hotel Pangeran, Pekanbaru, October 28th – November 1st, 2018

Figure 1. Free air gravity (Smith and Sandwell, 1997), depicting the existence of Sunda Oroclines (dashed red lines)
superimposed over Sundaland sedimentary basins (yellow polygons).

(a) (b)

Figure 2. (a) Probable Sundaland sedimentary basin arrangement in Eo-Oligocene during collision of India to Eurasia, which
have rotated Sundaland clockwise and pulled the extrados bends apart. (b) Possible basin arrangement in Mio-
Pliocene during collision of Australia to Eurasiam which have rotated Sundaland anti-clockwise and further pulled
the extrados bends apart.

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