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J A S O N R. A L I 1, J O H N M I L S O M 2, E D W A R D M. F I N C H 2 & B U N D A N M U B R O T O 3
1 Department of Oceanography, The University, Southampton, UK. 2 Department of Geological Sciences, University College, London, UK. 3 Geological Research and Development Centre, Bandung, Indonesia.
Abstract: The Tukang Besi Platform, an Australian microcontinental fragment, began docking with Sundaland in the Pliocene, impacting on east Buton (SE Sulawesi). Fortuin et al. (1989; Journal of SE Asian Earth Sciences, 4, 107-124) postulated that south Bnton had rotated clockwise through about 60 relative to central/north Buton in response to the Tukang Besi collision. A palaeomagnetic investigation was carried out to test this model. Some 41 (of 72) palaeomagnetic sites from the upper Neogene Tondo and Sampolakosa Formations on Buton yielded interpretable data. Sites from south Buton record locally consistent directions, but at sampling localities < 25 km apart deflections are between 0 and 35 clockwise. There is no trend in these data with respect to the broad geotectonic setting. In central Buton declination offsets are negligible. In north Buton localized (kilometre scale) large (30-60 ) clockwise and counterclockwise declination offsets are observed. Effectively the Buton data provide spot markers on cover sequences that have been locally deformed as 'thin-skin' sheets. The underlying basement may have experienced the large relative motions proposed by Fortuin et al. (1989) but the upper Cenozoic cover has not been deformed in such a simple way. This study demonstrates that thinskin sheets associated with continental collision may undergo 30-60 rotations within very short intervals (< 2-3 Ma).
The Indonesian archipelago has been a zone of active convergence throughout the Tertiary. Since at least the early Miocene, the tectonic development of the area has been dominated by the interactions between the Sundaland margin of Eurasia and the Indo-Australian and Philippine Sea plates. Convergence of these plates on their triple junction in eastern Indonesia has led to obduction, subduction, fragmentation and shuffling of numerous microplates, typically covering 104 to 105 km 2, within an ever-decreasing area. The boundaries between these fragments have probably been generally short-lived (< 5 Ma) and over the next 10-20 Ma many will be incorporated into either Sundaland or Australia. This process is already well advanced in the western Banda Sea where Australian margin fragments such as the Banggai and Sula Islands, Buton and the Tukang Besi Platform have collided with the Sundaland margin represented by the large island of Sulawesi. A quantitative understanding of the development of this margin will provide valuable insights conceming the processes (and rates) involved in terrane accretion at continental margins. In this paper new palaeomagnetic data are presented from upper Neogene rocks on Buton and the results related to the Plio-Pleistocene collision processes in the region.
Buton Buton measures 150 km from north to south and approximately 60 km across at its widest point (Fig. 1). Topographically, it differs markedly from Muna Island to the west and the islands of the Tukang Besi platform to the southeast, being generally mountainous, with peaks in excess of 1000m. Geologically, the island attracted early interest because of the occurrence of deposits of asphalt which are worked commercially at a number of localities. Because of this, the geology of the island is well known, at least by comparison with most of the other islands of eastern Indonesia. Present understanding is based on the published work of Wiryosujono & Hainim (1978), Smith (1983), Fortuin et al. (1989) and Smith & Silver (1991), as well as unpublished work by M. E. M. de Smet (pers. comm. 1992). In addition, a considerable amount of land and marine seismic work has been carded out by oil companies exploring for hydrocarbons in the region (Davidson 1991). Other marine seismic, gravity and magnetic surveys have formed parts of broader scale investigations of the Banda Sea by US oceanographic institutes. There have been onshore gravity surveys on Buton, Muna and one of the Tukang Besi islands and in the extreme southeast of Sulawesi by a joint University 431
432
r-
--
SULAWESI
41, "N
l I,
4o30'
Tanjung Batu
BUTON
5o30'
Traverse
5 O k m
Alluvium Quaternary o~ [ 1 ~ ] post. , . , .: WapolakaFormation (reef limestone) collision [U Pliocenet units pper Miocene~ SampolakosaFormation (chalk and marl) [Middleto Upper~ TondoFormation (fine - coarse clastics) W Miocene ~ Pre-Neogeneformations
/ (,
250km
Fig. 1. Geological map of Buton, SE Sulawesi (based on Smith & Silver 1991) with palaeomagnetic sample sites: 1, Bungi River; 2, Sampolakosa River (no reliable palaeomagnetic data obtained, ND); 3, Kemberu River; 4, Sampolakosa Bridge, (ND); 5, Warumbia River, Lapodi; 6, Wabiau River; 7, Wakalumbe River, (ND); 8, Waulala River; 9, Kawau River; 10, Longito River; 11, Loangkumbe River; 12, Siloi River; 13, Walue River.
SE SUNDALAND ACCRETION of London/Geological Research and Development Centre team (Milsom 1992) and these link to earlier work by members of UC Santa Cruz in SE Sulawesi (Silver et al. 1983). The style and setting of sedimentation on Buton has been described within a framework of rift-drift followed by collision and amalgamation (e.g. Fortuin et al. 1989). The pre-Neogene section records sedimentation on a micro-continental fragment which was rifted away from northern Australia in the Mesozoic. The block drifted ahead of the Australian continent and encountered the SE Sulawesi subduction zone in the early Miocene, undergoing deformation as the zone 'choked' and subduction ceased (Fig. 2). Convergence continued between Sundaland and other Australian fragments in the Banda Sea, accommodated by subduction east of Buton until the mid-Pliocene, when the Tukang Besi platform entered the trench off southern Buton, giving rise to a second deformational event (Fig. 2). Fortuin et al. (1989) suggested that continued convergence following this second event could explain the elevated Quaternary reefs in southern Buton, the pattern of
433
major faults, folds and thrusts across the island, and the 50-60change in regional strike between its northern and southern halves. Clockwise rotation of the south with respect to the north would inevitably lead to extension seaward of central Buton, and an extensional basin does exist in approximately the expected position. The pattern of Bouguer gravity contours, which 'wrap around' southern Buton and Muna, is also persuasive evidence for differential rotation. In addition to the sedimentary rocks, outcrops of a dismembered ophiolite are scattered through western Buton, their presence being generally attributed to the first of the two collisions (e.g. Fortuin et al. 1989). Gravity surveys have failed, however, to locate any major anomalies associated with these rocks, or any sign of a high density root zone (Milsom 1992). A gravity map of the Buton-Tukang Besi region is shown in Fig. 3. These observations are evidence in favour of the interpretation of the structure and deformation of Buton in terms of a thin-skinned thrust model; such a model has also been proposed on purely geological grounds (H. Manur, pers. comm. 1993).
IwNwt
Sea Level
~ ~
EOCENE - OLIGOCENE
.......... :......................
++ + + + + ~ l ~ t ~ t ~ ~ ~ . --~,..~----,x.~..~...'.~E~~ -~~ + + + + + + ~~1~ ~ ~~ ' '~ ~~ / - - - - ~ +~ / BUTONMICRO- CONTINENT MUNA/ SE .ff'~'// SULAWESI - / CONTINENTALCRUST
BUTON KAPANTOREH STRAITS OPHIOLITE BASIN .. ~ BULU BASIN MIOCENE
"
T U K A N G BESI MICRO - C O N T I N E N T
--
,,
PLIOCENE / PLEISTOCENE
Fig. 2. Cartoons to illustrate the mid to late Cenozoic development of the SE Sulawesi region, based on Fortuin et al. (1989) and Davidson (1991).
434
5"S
123E
124E
Fig. 3. Bouguer anomalies, Buton, Muna and the Tukang Besi Platform. Reduction density = 2.67 Mg m-3.
Palaeomagnetism
Methods
The majority of specimens were obtained using a gasoline-powered rock-drill which was used to cut 2.5 cm diameter mini-cores. The cores were orientated to _+ 2 using a magnetic compassinclinometer. A palaeomagnetic site comprises 6-9 orientated mini-cores spanning 10-30cm of section within a bed. A number of orientated blocks (c. 300 cm 3) were also retrieved. Wherever possible, sites were collected with the aim of utilizing the fold and reversal tests to constrain the age of magnetization. The stability of magnetization of each specimen was assessed after using either stepwise alternating
SE SUNDALAND ACCRETION field (AF) demagnetization or continuous thermal demagnetization to isolate the various components of magnetization held within the rocks. The AF-processed specimens were analysed at Southampton, using either a 'Molspin' spinner magnetometer in tandem with a 'Molspin' demagnetizer, or a '2G Enterprises' cryogenic magnetometer which has an in-line 3-axis demagnetizing unit. Continuous thermal demagnetizations were performed on a number of specimens in the laboratory of M. Fuller at Santa Barbara, using a '2G Enterprises' cryogenic magnetometer with an in-line thermal demagnetizing unit (Dunn & Fuller 1984). In practically all cases the remanence of the Tondo and Sampolakosa Formations was found to be dominated by a single component suggesting a simple magnetization history. Characteristic components of magnetisation were identified from vector end-point plots (Zijderveld 1967), and calculated using a Kirschvink (1980) based software package. Site mean directions (Table 1) have been calculated using the statistics of Fisher (1953). The statistics of McFadden & Reid (1982) have also been used to calculate mean inclinations; in a number of cases the sites are from isolated outcrops and averaging site directions using Fisher (1953) statistics may have been incorrect. It is worth noting, however, that in all cases the difference between the Fisher (1953) and McFadden & Reid (1982) values is less than 0.5 (see Table 1).
435
Formation at five outcrops exposed along the Bungi River, about 5 km ESE of Bungi (Fig. 1; 1). The sites were from beds which dip to the north and west at 10-15 . The formation is dominated by compacted marls in beds typically 30-80 cm thick. Samples from three sites were analysed for nannofossils, but the faunas were too poorly preserved to yield a reliable age; a Mio-Pliocene age is assumed. Specimens from Sites BU1, 3, 4 and 5 have NRM intensities between 0.07 and 1.4 mA m -1 (Table 1). AF demagnetization of these sites indicates that the remanence is carried by a single high-coercivity component. Site BU2.H, from the Tondo-Sampolakosa transition, revealed quite different magnetic behaviour; the remanence being carried by a relatively soft single component of magnetization. Specimens from Sites BU 1, 2 and 5 were the subject of IRM studies (Table 1). All three specimens yielded IRM ratios >0.95 suggesting that the remanence is probably carried by magnetite. The five sites had a mean in situ direction of D = 357.9 , I = -23.5 , a95 = 7.7 , K = 98.4 (Table 1, Fig. 4a), and a tilt corrected direction of D = 2.7 , I = -31.3 a95 = 9.6 , K = 63.8 (Fig. 4b). A normal polarity magnetization is assumed. The remanence data can be interpreted in two ways. Assuming the individual site corrections account for all of the deformation experienced by each site, then the in situ and tilt corrected a95 and K values suggest that the remanence post-dates tilting. However, the present-day geocentric axial dipole inclination for the Bungi River area is -10.7 , which suggests that the remanence predates deformation. The age of magnetization of the Sampolakosa Formation in the Bungi River is considered ambiguous. The declination data, whether interpreted as either pre- or post-folding, indicate negligible rotation.
Table 1. Summary of palaeomagnetic data at sites named on Fig. 1 with latitude and longitudes of each
tao
c7~
TRAVERSE ? c. 5 ? c. 5 6 4 7 6 6 5 4 7 6 6 5 5 5 5 2.7 NA 10-50 22-53 0.4-1.6 1.5 342.0 3.0 355.6 NA 359.6 NA -14.8 -14.7 -16.3 -16.4 -9.6 -14.2 -14.1 200/08 W 160/24 W 190/18 W 3.9 348.6 6.3 -18.7 -14.1 -11.3 12.9 9.3 14.1 18.4 9.7 15.3 9.3 -31.3 -31.7 6 5 5 3 3 3 3 28.0 68.9 30.6 45.8 216.1 65.4 235.2 N N N 0.99 0.99 0.07-0.3 c. 2.0 0.5-1.0 0.14-0.25 0.8-1.4 358.8 357.1 4.3 354.1 356.3 357.9 NA -34.3 -14.7 -26.2 -23.0 -19.4 -23.5 -23.8 290/10 N 237/18 NW 210/18 NW 165/14 W 216/18 NW 355.7 0.8 13.9 359.5 3.0 -43.5 -29.5 -32.7 -20.1 -30.1 7.4 6.2 5.3 9.5 5.1 7.7 9.2 9.6 10.4 108.1 219.4 128.9 51.1 172.2 98.4 60.2 63.8 46.8 N N N N N 0.99 0.96 0.95
Exp
SITE
Fm
Nanno.
age (Ma) Np
Nc
IRM ratio
peak IRM
BUNGI (5.42S/122.70E)
a b c d e
BU1 S BU2.H T-S BU3 S BU4 S BU5 S IS (F) IS (M&R) tilt (F) tilt (M&R) ? 9.5-5.3 6 ? 9.5-5.3 6 reworked 5
indet. indet.
KEMBERU (5.67S/122.67E)
a b c
21393 17067
WARUMBIA (5.47S/122.83E)
a b c d
BU21.H BU24 BU27.H BU29 IS (F) IS (M&R) tilt (F) tilt (M&R) 9.5-8.2
T T T S
indet.
0.96 0.98
1521 8115
indet.
1 6 1 6
1 6 1 6 4 4 4 4
N N N N
31.0 NA
-29.8 -30.1
WABIAU (5.35S/123.03E)
NNI0
1.00
377.6
8.2-3.6 8.2-3.6
0.99
2247
a a b c d d e e e f f 9.5-5.3
BU30 BU31 BU32 BU33 BU34 BU35 BU36 BU37 BU38 BU39 BU40 IS (F) IS (M&R)
T T T T T T T T T S S
NN10
NN10-11
6 6 6 5 6 5 6 6 6 4 6
6 5 5 5 6 5 5 6 6 4 6 11 11
1.5-5.0 5-10 0.2--0.5 0.1-0.25 3-6 2.5-4.8 1.3-7.0 5-12 c. 2.4 c. 0.3 0.1-0.3
8.4 0.7 7.7 345.5 345.2 346.5 355.7 358.1 6.0 357.3 353.8 356.8 NA
-4.6 -15.7 -10.8 -18.7 -10.7 -11.6 -13.6 -8.6 -5.6 -17.1 -13.0 -11.9 -11.8
075/15 SE 075/15 SE 060/12 SE 120/14 SW 065/21 SE 060/16 SE 210/10 NW 210/10 NW 200/15 W 140/08 SW 130/08 SW
8.6 0.1 6.9 347.8 345.2 346.2 358.2 359.8 7.9 355.0 351.4
9.2 -1.2 -1.2 -8.5 10.0 3.8 -19.1 -13.8 -9.0 -21.8 -18.4
6.2 5.9 6.0 12.4 7.1 6.4 17.7 8.1 8.1 11.5 6.8 5.4 3.0
116.6 167.2 165.7 38.8 90.1 142.2 19.7 68.7 69.5 64.9 99.5 72.9 165.3
N N N N N N N N N N N
0.99
47.1
tilt (F) tilt (M&R) 11 11 1 1 2.93 214.9 -4.0 235/25 NW 215.1 4.7 NA NA R 357.0 NA -6.4 ~6.6 8.1 7.6 32.8 25.8
WAULALA (5.23S/122.95E)
BU46.H
KAWAU (4.95S/122.97E) ? 9.5-5.3 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 355.1 0.1-0.2 0.1-0.2 0.1-0.3 1.7 ? 8.2-3.6 -9.8 176.1 348.9 14.7 359.8 19.2 -12.7 -14.4 -15.7 150/12 SW 170/34 W 030/31 SE 179.3 356.3 9.6 13.6 -11.1 -4.7 26.5 22.0 27.8 20.4 12.7 -7.4 0.2-0.35 0.16-0.5 0.4-0.9 0.9-3.6 0.5-1.3 1.5-2.5 0.4-0.9 083/15 S 070/12 S 080/16 SE 037/37SE 130/10 SW 110/12 S 085/20 S 354.7 352.5 188.0 350.8 6.5 160.0 354.3 -8.5 -7.2 18.3 9.9 -14.2 12.1 -0.4
1.00
1268
a a a a a a a 4 4 5 6 5 6 6 7 7 3 4 3 22.6 18.3 20.7 37.3 95.2 R N N M M 354.8 353.1 190.5 352.4 4.6 157.6 354.3 355.0 -23.9 -18.9 33.4 -16.9 -22.5 21.1 19.6 -17.3 6.9 17.3 8.7 4.2 10.1 4.6 7.6 14.6 10.0 178.4 29.0 79.0 259.5 57.8 213.2 77.9 17.8 37.2 N N R N N R N M M
BU49 BU50 BU51 BU52 BU53 BU54 BU55 IS (F) tilt (F) 8.2-3.6 4 4 3
T T T T T T T
indet.
0.99
154.1
LONGITO (4.97S/122.92E)
NNll-15
a a a
T T T
0.99
106.7
LOANGKUMBE (4.70S/123.08E)
1.00 1.00
9481 17415
a a b c c c d 8.2-3.6 6 6 6 5 1 1 7 6 4 6 3 1 1 5 7 7 4 6 6-17 7.0 13-46 355.1 0.9 -33.7 280/18 N 350/80 E 4-12 0.1-0.35 10-17 c. 7 37.68 54.23 8-59 147.1 334.1 226.9 352.4 39.5 32.3 193.6 NA 14.9 -10.9 13.9 -38.4 -31.0 -15.9 -4.3 18.1 140/32 140/28 145/32 125/22 126/26 126/26 140/30 SW SW SW SW SW SW SW
BU62 BU63 BU66 BU68 BU69H.a BU69H.c BU70 IS (M&R) tilt (M&R) ? 9.5-5.3 ? 9.5-5.3 6 5
T T T T T T T
indet.
NNll-15
8.9 3.1 -17.8 -21.1 -5.0 4.1 -27.8 9.0 -16.5 -19.6
R N R R N N R M M N N
1.00
17756
SILOI (4.72S/123.00E)
BU71
indet.
1.00 0.99
56538 12216
WALUE (4.53S/122.92E)
BU72
indet.
Abbreviations after site number are: F = Fisher (1953) statistics used to calculate mean direction; M & R = McFadden & Reid (1982) statistics used to calculate mean inclination. Other abbreviations are Fm = Formation, T = Tondo, S = Sampolakosa; Nanno. = nannofossil zones; Np = Specimens processed; Nc = Specimens used to calculate the site direction; NRM = initial intensity; in situ = site mean direction before application o f tectonic correction: DEC = declination in degrees; 1NC = inclination in degrees; NA = not applicable; Strike & Dip = bedding orientation; tilt corr. = site mean direction after tectonic correction; a95 = circle of 95% confidence about the site mean; K = precision parameter; Pol = polarity: N, normal, R, reversed; M = statistics calculated by inverting reverse polarity directions;IRM ratio = IRM at 0.3 T/IRM at 0.86 T; peak IRM expressed in m A m 2.
4~
438 N N N
J.R. ALI E T A L . N N N
E ~
!Bu:4 ........e t
N
:
g E h
i
N
- j j
t~uov.l-la [
i BU68
........................i.......................................... i...................
BU66 ~BU70 :: i I BU62[ @ ~ BU66 i i @ ~ BU62
Fig. 4. Site mean data from (a, b) Sampolakosa Fm, Bungi River (a = in situ, IS, b = tilt corrected, TC); (c, d) Tondo Formation, Kemberu River (c = IS, d = TC); (e, f) Tondo Fm and basal Sampolakosa Fm, Warumbia River (e = IS, f = TC); (g, h) Tondo Fm and basal Sampolakosa Fm, Wabiau River (g = IS, h = TC); (i, j) Tondo Fm, Kawau River (i = IS, j = TC); (k, !) Tondo Fm, Longito River (k = IS, 1 = TC); (m, n) Tondo Fm, Loangkumbe River (m = IS, n = TC). Open and closed circles represent downward and upward dipping vectors respectively. Site directions based on mini-core samples are shown with their 95% confidence circle. Hand specimens do not have associated confidence circles.
from mudstones and fine sandstone in the upper part o f the Tondo Formation. Reliable data were obtained from two hand specimens, B U 2 1 . H and B U 2 7 . H , and two drill core sites, B U 2 4 and B U 2 9 . The mean in situ direction is D = 41.7 , I = - 4 3 . 6 , a95 = 28.7 , K = 11.1 (Fig. 4e). F o l l o w i n g the application o f the tilt corrections the mean direction
SE SUNDALAND ACCRETION
439
is D = 3 1 . 0 , I = - 2 9 . 8 a95=21.0, K = 1 9 . 9 (Table 1, Fig. 4f). Although a95 and K improve with the correction for dip, the scatter of the vectors suggests that the local tectonics are more complex than simple S - S W tilting.
440
the general strike of rocks in the area. The lower reaches of the fiver expose marls from the lower part of the Sampolakosa Formation but only a single site was sampled; determining accurate dips and strikes in the formation is difficult because obvious signs of bedding have been obliterated by erosion. Eight drill sites and one hand specimen were sampled from the Tondo Formation. Seven Tondo Formation sites, from three outcrops, have yielded data (Table 1, Fig. 4rn/n). Sites BU62 and BU63 from an outcrop c. 200 m upstream of the L o a n g k u m b e - M o u s o Cabang yielded tilt corrected directions of D = 153.9 , I = 8.9 , a95 = 8.3 , K = 66.5, N = 6 and D = 337.5 I = 3.1 a95 = 17.5 , K = 17.5, N = 4. The presence of reverse and normal polarity sites in one outcrop suggests that the remanence is primary. The declinations indicate about 25 counter-clockwise rotation. Five sites, between 3 and 5 km upstream of Sites BU62 and 63, yielded directional data. BU66 has a tilt corrected mean direction of D = 226.7 , I = -17.8 , a95 = 8.4 , K = 65.3, N = 6, indicating about 45 of clockwise rotation. Site BU70, about 600 m upstream, also carries reverse polarity magnetization, with D = 188.0 , I = - 2 7 . 8 , a95 = 10.3 , K = 56.0, N = 5, indicating negligible rotation. Site BU68 is normally magnetized with no declination offset. From the same outcrop, hand samples BU69H.a and BU69H.c record c. 35 of clockwise rotation. Declination data from the Loangkumbe River suggest that rotations for this part of north Buton are significant, but appear to be local (subkilometre scale). Using the statistics of McFadden & Reid (1982) the mean tilt corrected inclination is +9.0 , assuming a normal polarity, suggesting deposition at a latitude c. 4.5N. However, because of the large a95 confidence circle (12.9 ) associated with this inclination, it can only be stated with confidence that this part of Buton was close to the equator during Mio-Pliocene times.
Ogena Formation (lower Jurassic; Davidson 1991). The in situ site mean direction is D = 3 5 5 . 1 , 1 = 0 . 9 , a95 = 18.1 , K = 26.6, N = 4. (Table 1). Application of the tilt correction produces a direction of D = 354.5 , I = -16.5 . The remanence is carried as a normal polarity, but the age of the remanence (depositional/post deformation) is not known.
441
Z~4-
2-
'
'
'
'
'
B
I
'
-18
Fig. 5. Apparent formation latitude shift for the Tondo and Sampolakosa Formation sites, Buton.
the Bungi River area has experienced negligible rotation since the magnetization was acquired. In the Kemberu River, 25 km to the south of Bungi, the Tondo Formation sites also record negligible rotation. In the Warumbia River, 25 km to the east of Bungi, four upper Tondo Formation sites record clockwise rotations of c. 30 . East Buton was the one part of the island where large rotations might have been predicted because it is closest to the Tukang Besi Platform-Buton impact point. However, the large number of sites from the Wabiau River revealed negligible declination offsets. The single reliable Tondo Formation site in the Waulala River has a large declination offset (35 clockwise). Large rotations might be expected here as this site is from a block located in the middle of several NE-SW striking faults. In central Buton, declinations for the Tondo Formation sites in both the Kawau and Longito Rivers indicate negligible rotation. The two sections include both normal and reverse polarity sites suggesting that the remanence is primary. Also in both sections there is a clear clustering of the site vectors following application of the tilt corrections to the in situ data. In north Buton, declination data from the Loangkumbe River suggest local (< km) largescale, clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations. A single site from the Tondo Formation in the Siloi River records negligible rotation, but the age of the magnetization is uncertain. One Tondo Formation site from the Walue River, records a counterclockwise rotation of over 40 . However, the site was sampled from steeply dipping beds, and the declination deflection probably reflects localized deformation.
Discussion
The Buton region contains a record of the relatively recent successive accretion of two microcontinents to the edge of a continent, and a quantitative understanding of the processes involved provides a valuable analogue for older systems where the rock record is less complete. Prior to the present study no palaeomagnetic information was available for the area and the initial aim of the research was to test the model of Fortuin et aL (1989) which proposed large-scale (c. 60 ) Pliocene clockwise rotation of south Buton relative to central and north Buton as a result of the Tukang Besi Platform collision. Although it remains possible that the underlying basement experienced these large relative motions, the study has shown that the upper Cenozoic cover has not been deformed in such a simple way (Fig. 6). In recent publications (e.g. Davidson 1991) the geology of Buton has been interpreted in terms of
Fig. 6. Summary of the palaeomagnetic declination data from the Tondo and Sampolakosa Formations, Buton. The orientations of the arrows illustrate the declination offsets. Note each arrow has an error typically 10-13 (see Table 1).
442
J.R. ALI ET AL. palaeomagnetic programme in SE Asia. If just the Waulala and Warumbia sites had been sampled in southern Buton, the Fortuin et al. (1989) rotation hypothesis would probably have been regarded as confirmed, although with rotations somewhat smaller than those originally suggested. If, on the other hand, these sites had not been visited and work had been confined to the Bungi, Kemberu and Wabiau Rivers, it would have been concluded that rotations were absent in southern Buton. Neither conclusion is supported by the full dataset actually obtained.
thin-skinned deformation processes but no insights have been provided into the rotations which the thin sheet overthrusts might have experienced. Strictly speaking, the palaeomagnetic study has no bearing on the question of thin-skin versus thick-skin tectonics but it is perhaps easier to envisage large relative rotations of small blocks taking place in a thin-skin rather than a thick-skin context. Resolving the fine scale detail of the tectonics of Buton is beyond the scope of this or indeed any project, because of the lack of exposure, but it has been demonstrated by the palaeomagnetic results that in a collision setting thin overthrusts may well be rotated by 30-60 within 2-3 Ma. The palaeomagnetic study has also provided support for the two-stage model for collision, which is still controversial; if the Tukang Besi Platform were part of the Buton block prior to its collision with SE Sulawesi in the Miocene, there would be little reason for the large Pliocene to Recent rotations which are actually observed. However, the amount of thin-skinned rotation does not seem to have been a simple function of proximity to the microcontinental suture. Rotations in north Buton, which is further from Tukang Besi, are greater than rotations at sites, such as the Wabiau River, which are closer to it. The difference in deformation style between north and south is also the reverse of expectation. In the south, each individual traverse section, up to 15 km in length, shows a consistent declination deflection, suggesting the presence of coherent sheets at least 15 km across, whereas in the north rotations appear to have occurred on a much more local (c. 1 km) scale. Finally, the results presented here emphasize the importance of comprehensive sampling in any
Conclusions
This palaeomagnetic study of the SE Sulawesi/ Buton/Tukang Besi accretion complex has provided a quantitative insight into the process of crustal deformation at a continent-microcontinent accretion site. In the Buton region, a significant component of the deformation has taken place as thin-skin overthrusts. The palaeomagnetic dataset suggests that the rotation of the thin-skin sheets is complex; there is no obvious relationship between the rotation of a sheet and its proximity to the microcontinent impact point. Rotations of up to 30-60 may be generated. Rotation rates are considerable; the Tukang Besi Platform-Buton collision began in the Pliocene, 2-3 Ma. This study was funded by the University of London Geological Research in SE Asia Consortium. Special thanks are given to Tony Barber, John Davidson, Kate Davis, Michael de Smet, Mike Fuller, Ernie Hailwood, Hendry Manur and Graham Rose for their input to this project. The constructive comments of H. Wensink, A. R. Fortuin and an anonymous referee greatly improved this manuscript.
References
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