J. geol. Soc. London, Vol. 136, 1979, pp. 519-527,2 figs. Printed inNorthernIreland.

The tectonic history of the Banda Arcs, eastern Indonesia: a review

M. S. Norvick
SUMMARY: The Banda Sea is underlain by a small marginal oceanic plate, which is believed
to have formed during the early Tertiary. Unlike other marginal seas to the N, the spreading of
the Banda platelet was restricted by surrounding continental blocks. Its present complexity is a
result of late Miocene-earlyPliocenecollision and obduction of theBandaSeaisland arc
system over the leading edge of the Australian-lrian continental plate. Transcurrent faultingon
the northern limb of the collision zone may have accentuated curvature of the arc. Subduction
and volcanicitv ceased after collision in the Timor and Seram sectors, but are still active at the
eastern extremity of the arc.

Adoublespiralline of geologicallyverycomplex, based on bathymetry (Mammerickx et al. 1976), reg-

small, mountainous islands make up the Banda Arcs ional gravity (Vening Meinesz 1954; Chamalaun et al.
of eastern Indonesia (Fig. 1). Although onshore out- 1976; Milsom 1977) andearthquakedistribution
crop information is scattered, and geophysical data on (Hamilton 1974a; Cardwell & Isacks1978).Seismic
the deep seas that cover 90% of the area sparse, the lineshavebeenpublishedacrosstheTimorregion
tectonic history of the region has stimulated discussion (Branson1974; Beck & Lehner1974;Crostella &
formanyyears,andproduceddifferent(sometimes Powell 1975) and the Seram Trough (Audley-Charles
conflicting) interpretations. The present review attempts & Carter 1978). Two 1976 oceanographic surveys run
reinterpret
to critically
the
data
and
some of by Scripps(‘Indopac’programme)andCCOP(‘Val-
theplatetectonictheories on theevolution of the divia’ cruise) collected valuable seismic refraction and
Banda Arcs in the light of recent geological mapping reflection data over the deep water areas (Purdy et al.
and oceanographic surveys. 1977; Bowin et al. 1977; Shor et al. 1977).
Datafrommost of thepre-1939reconnaissance
surveys have been compiled by van Bemmelen (1949). Tectonic framework
These early studies suffer from the serious shortcom-
ings that recognition of rock units in difficult terrain
was often based on float material, and that palaeon- 4 major crustal plates occur around the margins of the
tological dating was not as refined as it is now. Banda Arcs (Fig. 1). In the W, the Sunda Craton, its
The Geological Survey of Indonesia has a continu- forelandbasinsand
theextinct,
accretedarcs of
ing mapping programme on Timor, Seram, Buru, Hal- Sulawesi forms
southwestern
a extension of the
mahera and the Sula Islands (Sukamto, pers. comm.). Laurasiancontinentalplate.Inthe S, theIndian
Oil companystudieshave led toseveralpublished OceanPlateandtheattachedAustraliancontinent
reports on Seram (Zillman & Paten 1975), the Timor extends northwards into Irian Jaya and westwards into
region(Crostella & Powell1975;Crostella1977),
the Sula Spur (Audley-Charles et al. 1972). A seriesof
Misool (Froidevaux 1975),
Irian
Jaya
(Visser &
accretedislandarcsarepreservedinthenorthern
Hermes1962;
Vincelette
1973;
Redmond &
part of Irian as the Central New Guinea Orogen (Vis-
Koesoemadinata 1976; Froidevaux 1978) and the Au- ser & Hermes1962).The Pacific OceanPlate is
stralianNW Shelf (Balke et al. 1973;Warris1973; moving westwards across the N side of Irian. The plate
Laws & Kraus 1974; Powell 1976). boundary is a complex of active sinistral transcurrent
The geological map of Audley-Charles (1968), to- faults, extending from northern Papua New Guinea to
gether with recent mapping by the Geological Survey Sulawesi-the Sorong Fault System.
of Indonesia,providesforthe first timeacomplete TheBandaArcsarethusenclosed by continental
geological map of Timor on a scale of 1 : 250,000. In blocks on all4sides,andtheseareinvolved ina
spite of criticism by Grady(1975),Grady & Berry complex series of stresses.
(1977),
Chamalaun & Grady
(1978)
and 5 elements can bedistinguishedwithintheBanda
Brunnschweiler (1978), the complex geology appears arcs:
to havebeenunravelled by Audley-Charles(1968),
Carter et al. (1976)andBarber et al. (1977).Their 1. Theinternaloceanographicbasinsincludethe
interpretation appears to be applicable to other parts BandaSea,FloresDeepand Gulf of Bone,allof
of the arc, and Audley-Charles et al. (1979) showed which areprobablyunderlain by oceaniccrust. A
that Seram is geologically related to Timor. poorlyunderstood ridge,
the
Buton-Tukang Besi
Little information is available on the sub-sea parts block,protrudes SE fromSulawesiintotheBanda
of theregion,andinterpretationshavemainlybeen Sea. This may be a micro-continent (Hamilton 1978).

0016-7649/79/090045 19$02.00 @ 1979 The Geological Society

5 20 M. S. Norvick

Active Quaternary volcanoes

Dormant Quaternary WlCanOeS
L E G E N D
0
0
Areas of crust
oceanlc m]
Active rubduction platr boundary
Active tramcurrent plate boundary
Acfm plate boundary, over-ridden
-
--A

-e--
Areas of Australian
crystalline
Areas
with probable Asian
E l
.-.
Actiw pbta boundary,uncertain A AA allochman
thrust
Aurtralian
autochlhon
OVW
. .. .
FIG.1. Simplified tectonic mapof eastern Indonesia.

2 . The Inner Banda Arc isachain of activeand
extinct Cenozoic volcanoes. Superficially, it is an ex-
tension of the Java-Sumatravolcanicarc.However
thesector E of Sumbawaprobablyhad adifferent
geological history to the islands in the W and appears
to have been initiated much more recently.
3. A series of deeps, culminating in the 7000+m
Weber Deep, lie external and parallel to the volcanic
chain in an inter-arc position. These are probably not
a continuation of the inter-arc troughsoff Sumatra and
Java, but, as will be shown later, are thought to be a
modern subduction trench.
4. The outer Banda non-volcanic arc extends from
Buruto SavuasanenormousU-shapedchain. A
complex of thrust sheets has been mapped on some of
the islands, and these hold the key to the elucidation
of theentireregion.Sumba, in the SW, appearsto
lack thrust sheets, although it is now on-trend with the
rest of thearc.Thisislandmayalsobe amicro-
continent(Hamilton1978).Audley-Charles(1975)
 Tectonic history of Banda
Arcs,
believed Sumba to be a detached portion of pre-late
Jurassic continental crust, which moved to its present
position
along
hypothetical
transform faults
(the
Sumba Fracture) during the opening of the Wharton
Basin.
5. TheboundarybetweenthearcsandtheAus-
tralian foreland is marked by a discontinuous series of
depressions,namelytheTimorandSeramTroughs,
and the Aru Deep. These were once thought to be a sedimentary slump breccia or olistostrome (Bobonaro
continuation of the Java subduction trench, but deep
sea drilling has shown that they formed in relatively
recenttimes,andseismicrefractionstudiessuggest
that they are underlain by continental crust.
Nature and origin of the
Banda Arcs
2 theories have been used to explain the structure of
theBandaArcs.Hamilton(1974b,1976,1978)be-
lieved that the double arc is an active and long-lived
subductionsystem. He thoughtthattheTimor,Aru
and Seram Troughs represent the outcrop of the sub-
duction zone that generated the volcanoes in the inner
arc, and that the outer non-volcanic arc is a subduc-
tion mtlange. Audley-Charles and co-workers (Carter
et al. 1976; Barber et al. 1977) believed that the outer
arc isessentiallyazone of Pliocene collision and
obduction between Asian-derived overthrusted mater-
ialandAustralianbasement,thatthepresentactive
subduction trench lies between the inner and the outer
arcs, and that both the external troughs and the outer
arc are underlain by Australian continental crust.
Earthquake and gravity data can be used to support
either theory. A Benioff zone dipping N and E under-
lies the southern and eastern limbs of the arcs (Fitch
1972; Cardwell & Isacks 1978). Active vulcanicity in
the inner arc can be explained by partial melting of
down-going slabs of crust within this subduction sys-
tem. However, it is not possible to determine where
thesubductionzonereachesthesurface.Theouter
non-volcanic arc is marked by a well defined series of
negativegravityanomalies.Thesearegenerallyac-
cepted to represent thick sections of low density ma-
terial, which would be consistent with either Hamil-
ton’s theory of the outer arc being a steeply dipping
tectonic mtlange, orwith Audley-Charles’s contention
that a thick pile of low density thrusts is present in this
region.
However,recentseismicrefractionwork in the
Timor Trough and the Aru Deep has shown that crust
of continentalthicknessunderliesthesedepressions
(Shor et al. 1977), which tendstosupportAudley-
Charles’sinterpretation. DSDP borehole 262, in the
axis of the Timor Trough, penetrated Plio-Pleistocene
deep sea sediments, overlying upper Pliocene shallow
marine sediments. Thus, the external troughs are rela-
tively recent, perhaps fault controlled depressions in a
eastern Indonesia 521
continuation of thePlioceneforeland.Nappes of
allochthonous material have been mapped in Timor and
Seram.Theyoverlie a para-autochthon of Permian
and Mesozoic clastic sediments, which can be closely
comparedwithrocks of thesameageontheAu-
stralianNW Shelf and in Irian.Theoutcropson
Timor,whichHamiltonidentifiedas a tectonic sub-
ductionmtlange,are infactpart of asuperficial
Scaly Clay). A deep water subduction melangemay be
present in theouterarc,butitoccurs onlyasthe
lowestKolbanoand Nief thrustsheets, whichlie
structurally above the para-autochthon and consist of
an imbricate wedge of folded and faulted but coherent
sediments.
Pre-late Miocene history
PliocenetectonicsintheBandaArcregionhave
been so disruptive that the pre-Neogene history of the
area is difficult to decipher.
Audley-Charlesand his co-workershaveargued
that Sundaland and Australia were separated by many
thousands of kilometres of ocean during the Permian
andMesozoic.Theybasedthistheoryonsupposed
differences in latitude, indicated by tropical faunas in
reefal limestones on the Asian side and their absence in
presumedtemperateorcircum-polar clastics onthe
Australian side. They further supported their theory
withsparsepalaeomagneticdata.However,shallow
water coral limestones are now known in the Permian
and Triassic of the northern NW Shelf, Irian, Misool
and Papua New Guinea. Also, palaeomagnetic poles
for autochthon and allochthon on Timor are very close
(Chamalaun 1977), although this is based on a small
amount of preliminary data, which may become mod-
ifiedby futurework(Audley-Charles,pers.comm.).
Unless climatic belts were much broader than at the
presentday,thewidelatitudinallatePalaeozoicto
Mesozoicseparation of AsiaandAustraliapostu-
latedby
Audley-Charles (1977) is
still far
from
proven.
OntheAustralian-Irianforeland,thePermian-
Middle Jurassic was a time of deltaic to fluvial clastic
sedimentation. Intermittent shelf carbonate deposition
occurred in areas protectedfrom clastic influx.
Lithofaciesbelts ontheAustralian NW Shelf show
progressively greater marine influence away from the
continent, and this trend can be extrapolated to Timor
(Audley-Charles 1977). There is evidence on the Au-
stralianNW Shelf forperiods of vulcanicity,rifting
and block faulting, primarily in the late Middle Juras-
sic (Callovian) but also in the late Triassic, which were
probablyassociatedwiththebreak-up of Indiaand
Australia (Warris 1973).
The Upper Jurassic-UpperMioceneKolbanoand
Nief imbricateunitsonTimorandSeramareinter-
preted as accretionary wedges, which were originally
522
deformed in a deep sea subduction zone. Pre-Upper
Jurassic elements have yet to be found in these units.
This apparent absence suggests that deep sea sedimen-
tation began in the late Jurassic, which in turn implies
that the oceanic crust between Sunda and Australia
began forming during the late Jurassic. It is possible
thatanoceanexisted in thispositionpriortolate
Jurassictimes,but it is notknownhowthecrust
beneath it was formed or removed.
Northwestern Sulawesi (Palu area) and the 'Asian'
allochthon of Timor(Lolotoicomplex)containhigh
grademetamorphics,whicharepresumedtohave
beendeformed in averyold,probablypre-Permian
orogeny.Theallochthon of Timoralsoincludesa
sequence of limestones and volcanics (Maubisse For-
mation), which Audley-Charles et al. (1972) used as
evidenceforPermianislandarcdevelopment.They
laterreinterpretedtheserocksasbelongingtothe
Asian continental margin (Carter et al. 1976). Clastic
and
carbonate shelves
were
presentin
Sulawesi
(Buton) and the Banda allochthon (Asinepe limestone
of Seram)duringtheTriassic.Achangetomore
M. S.Norvick
marine clasticsedimentation occurred in thelate
Jurassic on theAustralian-Irianforeland,andthis
lasted, in places, until the late Cretaceous. This time
interval is poorly represented in Sulawesi.
The late Cretaceous (Fig. 2 a ) was the time that the
first geologically well represented orogeny began in E
Sulawesi and northern Irian. It also saw the spread of
pelagic limestone deposition onto shelf areas in NW
Australia,westernIrianandtheSulaSpur.This
changedtoshallowwatercarbonatesedimentation
during the Tertiary, which extended over most of the
shelves of NW Australia and Irian by the Miocene.
In Sulawesi, W-verging subduction caused island arc
development andintermittentdeformation,which
lastedfromthelateCretaceousuntilthemiddle
Miocene.Carter et al. (1976)speculatedthatthe
Timor Aileu-Maubisse was thrust over the Lolotoi at
the
Asian margin during the
late
Cretaceous or
Palaeocene.DuringthemiddleMiocene,theSula
Spur, which had been steadily approaching Sundaland
since the late Cretaceous, collided with Sulawesi, re-
sultinginintensefoldingandmetamorphism. The

<*..>

h MIDDLE MIOCENE

1;
F

a LATE CRETACEOUS
0 1000 2000 kms
-
L E G E N D
Old oceanic crust M Subductlon trench # Spreadmg
D New oceanic crust Tmnscurnnt fault =O= Rlftlng
Metamorphic belt Thrust fault 4 Tedoasm
*e* Wcanic arc 6 Plate movement

c PLIOCENE

FIG.2. Schematic palinspastic palaeogeography of eastern Indonesia. In these reconstructions, the SE coast of
Kalimantan is treated as the reference line. The relationship between western and central Irian has not been
reconstructed; its attitude is subject to speculation.
 Tectonic
history of Banda Arcs, eastern
deepseafloor,thathadpreviouslylainbetween W provenance and a northward increase in metamorphic
Sulawesi and Sula, may have become obducted onto
the leading edge of the Sula Spur. It is now preserved
in eastern Sulawesi as one of the largest ophiolite belts
in the world (Kundig 1956).
Opening of the Banda Sea
The southern Banda Seais thought to be a marginal
ocean basin, which opened sometime during the early
Tertiary.Togetherwiththenorthwardadvance of
Australia,theopening of theBandamarginalsea
probably provided the driving mechanism for subduc-
tionintheBandaArcs (Fig. 2 b ) . Marginalseasare
commonphenomenaalongthewesternseaboard of
the Pacific; the Sea of Japan, South China Sea, Philip-
pinesSeaandCelebesSeaarecomparablefeatures.
Some form of crustal instability or local high tempera-
ture beneath the crust may have been responsible for
theirinitiation(Karig1971).The Gulf of Boneand
possiblyalsotheFloresDeepmayrepresentearly
riftedstages in the opening of marginalseas.Inthe
latter case, this was accompanied or perhaps causedby
alkalinevulcanism.Basedonpresentwaterdepths
(about 5 km), Pacific age/depth graphs, and the very
low heat flow values, Bowin et al. (in press) thought
thatthesouthernBandaSeacouldbeasoldas
Palaeocene (perhaps 69 Ma). A spreading centre has
yet to be identified in the Banda Sea, although magne-
tic anomaly lineations were reported by Bowin et al.
(1977). It is likely that the original spreading centre
becamedeformedduringconstriction of thearcs in
the Pliocene and Quaternary.
Origin of the ‘Asian’ AUochthon
During the early development of the Banda margi-
nalsea,fragments of ‘Asian’material,whichwere
eventuallyemplacedasthrustsheetsonTimorand
Seram,weredetachedfromtheedge of Sundaland.
The originalposition of these elements is unknown.
Carter et al. (1976) thought that they were once part
of theCretaceous-Eoceneorogen of Java,andthat
they were moved to the eastern corner of Sundaland
by strike-slipfaultingalongwhat is nowtheJava
Trench.Alesscomplicatedandperhapspreferable
explanation is that they originated near SE Sulawesi.
Thethrustsheets of Timor(Barber et al. 1977)
include a heavily deformed suite of Permian-Triassic
limestones,basic
submarine volcanics
andclastics
(Aileu-Maubisse),andacomplex of ultrabasicand
metamorphicrocks(Lolotoi).Theyarethusquite
different to the less deformed but coeval clastic rocks
in the underiying outer arc para-autochthon andin the
Australian-Irian foreland. In addition, distribution of
lithofacies in the ‘Asian’ clastics (Aileu) suggestsNW a
Indonesia 5 23
grade. The provenance of their ‘Australian’ age equi-
valentshastheoppositepolarity.Finally,metamor-
phics within the Lolotoi have suffered very high grade,
granulitefaciesmetamorphism.Suchrocksoccur in
the central parts of the Australian shield, but at pres-
ent are covered by up to 15 000 m of sediment on the
NW Shelf.
This evidence suggests that the Aileu, Maubisse and
Lolotoi are unlikely to have come from Australia. It is
not possible to prove their Asian origin or to match
the allochthon with specific parts of Sundaland. How-
ever, the SE arm of Sulawesi contains metamorphics
and ultramafics, while Triassic limestones and clastics
areknownonButon(vanBemmelen1949).Thus,
they may well have come from this area, in the ab-
sence of betteralternatives.Butonshowsdivergent
structural and stratigraphic trends compared with the
rest of Sulawesi, and appears to have suffered much
lesstectonism.Thiscanpossiblybeexplained by its
partial detachment and rotation, perhaps along a con-
tinuation of theButon-Burubathymetriclineament,
during the opening of the Banda Sea.
Late Miocene-Pliocene sobduction
and collision
As the Banda marginal sea increased in size, a W-
and N-dipping subduction zone developed on the Au-
stralian side of the fragments of ‘Asian’ material, the
‘Lolotoi arc’ of Carter et al. (1976). During the early
Tertiary-Miocene, deep sea sediments of late Jurassic-
lateMioceneage, which laterbecametheimbricate
Kolbanoand Nief thrustsheets,weretornupand
accreted to the hanging wall of the advancing subduc-
tion trench. Presumably, these rocks represent Asian
and Australian continental slope and rise sediments, as
well asdepositsfromthedeepoceanfloor.Acalc-
alkalinevolcanicislandarc,whichlaterbecamethe
inner Banda islands of Flores to Romang, developed
behind the subduction trench. The volcanic arc corres-
pondingtothepresentnorthernpart of thesystem
cannot be identified with certainty. Amblau and the
Uliasser Islands may be part of such a volcanic arc; the
remainder is possiblysubmergedasthesubmarine
ridges and valleys SE of Seram.
During the latest Miocene and Pliocene, the advanc-
ing subductionsystemcollided with theAustralian-
Irian continental block(Fig. 2c). The deep sea subduc-
tion milange, the fragments of ‘Asian’ material, and
probablyalsoaportion of oceaniccrustfromthe
arc-trench gap were chiselled off and obducted onto
the leading edge of the Australian Craton. There, they
wouldhaveformedthethrustsheetsofTimorand
Seram.OnTimor,thecollisioncanbedatedaccu-
rately as middle Pliocene (zone N.20), by reference to
524 M. S. Noroick
the youngest tectonized rocks in the deep-water thrust review in thelight of itsapparentoccurrence in the
sheet and the oldest rocks in the untectonized sequ- possibly thrust-free areas of the eastern islands.
ence. Obduction and thrusting took place slightly ear-
lier in Seram;duringthelatestMioceneorearliest
Pliocene (zone N.18-N.19). In the final stages of colli-
Pliocene-Quaternary post-collision history
sion,
volcanics
and
intrusives,
contaminated by The emplacement of the thrust sheets over a thick
metamorphicmineralsperhapsfromthesub-thrust ‘Australian’ sedimentary section must have resulted in
Australian continental crust, were emplaced in Wetar, excessiveisostaticinequilibrium.This is believedto
SE Seram and the Uliasser Islands as ‘ambonites’. havecausedrapidupliftandtheformation of the
Overthrust ‘Asian’ allochthon has only been iden- outer chain of islands(Tjokrosapoetro1978).The
tified in the western islands of the outer arc. Thus, it sedimentaryslidebrecciasprobablybecamereactiv-
occurs in W Seram, central Seram and possibly Buru atedduringthesemovements,andthiscouldhave
in the N limb of the arc, and in the islands from Savu causedsome of theapparentthrustsinterpretedon
throughTimortoLeti(possiblyalsoBabar)inthe seismiclinesN of Seram(Audley-Charles 8c Carter
southernpart of thearc.EasternSeram,theKai 1978)and S of Timor(Crostella & Powell1975;
Islands and the Tanimbar group contain ‘Australian’ Crostella 1977).
Mesozoicpara-autochthon.Possiblecrystallinebase- Rapiderosion of theemergingislandsprovided
ment outcrops in centralSeram(Kobipotocomplex) large quantities of detritus, which led to the formation
and the western Kai Islands (Kur, Fadol). Evidence forof thepost-tectonicmolassebasins.Thehistory of
‘Asian’ elements is either fragmentary or absent, al- uplift is preservedintheirstratigraphy.Thus,basal
though this may be due to poor data. sequences consist of Pliocene deep water chalks and
This can be explained by the hypothesis that, in the planktonic foraminiferal siltstones. These are replaced
eastern sector of the outer arc, collision of the subduc- in the uppermost Pliocene by turbidites and conglom-
tion system with the foreland has not yet taken place, erates, and finally, in the Pleistocene, by shallow water
and that subduction may still be active. The eastern limestones and beach sands. Uplift has continued to
volcanic arc is apparently in a young and active state thepresentday,andtheareahasstillnotreached
between Banda and Damar, and a major concentra- isostaticequilibrium.Thus,raisedQuaternaryreefs
tion of earthquakes lies adjacent to the southern part and terrace gravels occur to 2000 m above sea level,
of this sector. Although seismic reflection records are and the outer arc is marked by thenegativegravity
inconclusive,theWeberDeep,which is one of the anomalies mentioned above.
deepest sub-sea areas in Indonesia, may thus possibly Collision and obduction in the outer arc appears to
representarecentlyactivesubductiontrench.The have resulted in cessation of active subduction along
Weber Deep may also contain a portion of original, itsoriginalsurface.Thereafter,thenorthernpart of
unconsumed, Upper Jurassic-Recent ocean floor. Seis- the arc probably became inactive. However, vulcanic-
mic refractionstudiessuggestthat it is underlain by ity and earthquake activity has continued to the pres-
thinoceaniccrust(Purdy et al. 1977;Bowin et al. ent intheFlores-Pantarsector of theinnerarc, so
1977). presumably compression and subduction must still be
Objectionstothistheoryarethatthedeep-sea in progress.Subduction is believedtohave‘stepped
Kolbano-Nief facies occurs in eastern Seram, and that out’ to the S, and the subduction trenchis now thought
there is evidence for sedimentary olistostromes in all to be located in the Savu Sea (Carter et al. 1976).
theeasternislands.Thepresence of imbricatedeep Further freezing of subduction appears to have oc-
water Nief beds in E Seram cannot be refuted. How- curred N of Timor. The Alor-Wetar-Romang sector
ever,theserocktypesarenotrestrictedtooceanic of the volcanic arc is inactive, and may have been so
environments. For example, similar Upper Cretaceous since the Pliocene (Carter et al. 1976). It is thus likely
limestones are widespread in an autochthonous setting that the inner arc has become accreted to Timor in this
on the Sula Spur and NW Shelf, although, unlike the sector. A line of immature and active, subaerial and
Nief-Kolbano, they are associated with shallow water submarine volcanoes runs through Gunung Api in the
Jurassic and Lower Tertiary formations. Carter et al. southern Banda Sea. This is tentatively thought to be
(1976)usedpalaeontologicalevidencetoshowthat the result of a local, second ‘step-out’ of the subduc-
the Bobonaro olistostrome of Timor was formed ear- tion zone, which developed as a pressure release when
lier than the date of overthrusting (late Miocene, zone subduction froze to the S.
N.17; as against Pliocene, zone N.20). They thought
that it initally formed, perhaps from montmorillonitic
Curvature of the Banda Arcs
muds in thearc-trenchgap,duringmigration of the
subduction‘systemtowardsAustralia,andwasthus The curvature of the Banda Arcs remains enigmatic.
carriedintotheouterarc on theback of thethrust In particular, the divergent attitude of thrust sheets on
sheets. It may have acquired its exotic clast component the opposing limbs is difficult to explain in terms of
during overthrusting. This evidence will need critical root zones, as the intervening area is occupied by the
 Tectonic history of Banda Arcs, eastern
deep Banda Sea. Convergent subduction beneath the
N, S and E limbs of the arcs atthesametime is
geologically and topologically improbable. Cardwell &
Isacks (1978) explainthepresentdayearthquake
distribution by postulatingseparateJava-Timor-Aru
Trough and Seram Trough subduction systems, con-
nectedby an extension of the Tarera-Aiduna trans-
current fault. Audley-Charles et al. (1972) interpreted
the curvature as an acquired feature, caused by west-
ward movement of the Sula Spur after the collision of
the subduction system with the Australian-Irian fore-
land. However, age relationshipsin the eastern arm of
Sulawesisuggest thattheSulaSpurcollided with E
Sulawesiin themiddleMiocene, i.e. prior tothe
emplacement of the allochthon on Timor and Seram
(P. R. Ashton, pers. comm.). Post-Pliocene curvature
of thearccouldthusonlyhaveoccurred if either
Sunda or Australia-Irian had suffered major rotation
in the last few million years, an unlikely event.
It now seems possible that an eastern embayment
(between the Australian NW Shelf and the Sula Spur)
wasinexistenceprior tothearrival of theBanda
subduction system. The migrating arc would have en-
tered this embayment from the W, and allochthonous
elementswould have
collided
andperhaps been
smeared out by strike-slip faulting along the N and S
limbs of the foreland. There has probably also been a
great deal of internal deformation in the Banda margi-
nalsea.Thesubmarineridgesandtroughsbetween
Buton and Seram may represent a series of transform
faults which developed to accommodate this deforma-
tion. There is also evidenceforbrittletranscurrent
faulting in the western peninsulas of Irian (Froidevaux
1978;M.W.Howe,pers.comm.), whichmight be
consistent with overall sinistral strike-slip movement.
Tensionrelease is thoughttohaveoccurredatthe
northern edge of the arc, along a postulated splay of
the Sorong Fault running across the northern Banda
SeaastheButon-Burubathymetriclineament.The
small part of theBandaSea whichlies N of the
lineament does not appear to have had any association
with the thrust zone. Like the Weber Deep, a portion
of undeformed pre-Neogene ocean floor may be pre-
served in this area.
Pleistocene, post-thrusting, transcurrent faults have
probably been active on Seram, and possibly also on
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a
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. The writer wishes to thank the British
PetroleumCompanyLimitedforpermission to publishthis
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25 January
Farburn Industrial