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Cited by 929Geological and Geophysical StudiesGeomagnetism and Paleomagnetism StudiesGeological and Geochemical Analysis

The evolution of the Indian Ocean since the late Cretaceous

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McKenzie, Dan, Sclater, John G.·1971·Geophysical Journal International
DOI 10.1111/j.1365-246x.1971.tb02190.x
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Abstract

Summary All available ship and aeroplane tracks across the Indian Ocean were searched for identifiable magnetic anomalies and transform faults, and hence the age and direction of motion at the time of formation of about two-thirds of the floor of the ocean established. The magnetic lineations show that India moved away from Antarctica at about 18 cm/y for 20 My in the Early Tertiary. This rapid motion ceased in the Eocene and was followed by a period in which little or no spreading took place west of the Ninety East Ridge. Australia separated from Antarctica during this period. The present spreading episode began about 36 My ago. This detailed study has permitted instantaneous poles of rotation to be obtained, and has established that Africa is now moving northward at 2cm/y relative to Antarctica in the South West Indian Ocean. The evolution of the triple junction between the South East, South West and Central Indian Ridges is clearly reflected in the topography and magnetic lineations. The depth of parts of the ocean formed since the Late Cretaceous increases with age in the manner expected from the temperature structure of a cooling plate, and supports the evolution determined from the magnetic lineations in a most remarkable way. Heat flow observations are more scattered but also consistent with the same thermal model. The proposed evolution agrees with the distribution of known continental fragments and with the Late Cretaceous palaeomagnetic poles from surrounding continents and one obtained from the shape of the magnetic lineations south of India. It is, however, not yet clear how to reconstruct Gondwanaland from the Late Cretaceous reconstructions.

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  • The alignment of volcanic chains in the Indian Ocean with the traces of the two largest fracture zones suggests that their distribution is controlled by lines of weakness.

    “In the Indian Ocean in particular the coincidence of the chains of volcanic seamounts forming Mauritius, Reunion and the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge on one side of India and those forming the Ninety east ridge on the other with the traces of the two largest fracture zones in the Indian Ocean (McKenzie & Sclater 1971) suggests control by lines of weakness.”

    From Speculations on the Thermal and Tectonic History of the Earth (2007) · cites this paper as McKenzie & Sclater 1971

    Section 3 (The Central Indian Ridge; page unavailable) says the volcanic parts of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge and Mascarene Plateau were probably located by the Chagos fracture zone. Section 8 (Reconstructions; page unavailable) identifies the Ninety East Ridge with a major fracture zone, but says its topography may have formed by uplift rather than volcanism. The paper therefore supports the proposed alignment, but not the description of both ridges as volcanic chains. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 14

  1. Bellair, P. & Nougier, J., 1964. The volcanism of Presqu'ile Rallier du Baty (Iles de Kerguelen) in Antarctic geology (Proc. 1st Int. Symp. Ant. Geol., Cape Town 1963), North Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 8-13. SOC. A, 259, 187-197.
  2. Cann, J. R. & Vine, F. J., 1966. An area of the crest of the Carlsberg Ridge: Petrology and Magnetic Survey, Phil. Trans. R. SOC. A, 259, 198.
  3. Francis, T. J. G., Davies, D. & Hill, M. N., 1966. Crustal structure between Kenya and the Seychelles, Phil. Trans. R . SOC. A , 259, 24Cj261.
  4. Irving, E., 1964. Palaeomagnetism, Wiley and Sons, New York.
  5. Laughton, A. S., Matthews, D. H. & Fisher, R. L., 1971. The structure ofthe Indian Ocean. Vol. 2: The Sea, edited by A. E. Maxwell et al., John Wiley, New York.
  6. Laughton, A. S., Whitmarsh, R. B. & Jones, M. T., 1971. The evolution of the Gulf of Aden, Phil. Trans. R . SOC. Land., A, 267,227-266.
  7. Matthews, D. H., 1966. The Owen fracture zone and the northern end of the Carls- berg ridge, Phil. Trans. R. SOC. Lond., A, 259, 172-186.
  8. Matthews, D. H. & Davies, D., 1966. Geophysical studies of the Seychelles Bank, Phil. Trans. R. SOC. Lond., A, 259, 227-239.
  9. McElhinny, M. W., 1967. The palaeomagnetism of the southern continents-A survey and analysis, UNESCO Symposium on Continental Drft, Montivedeo.
  10. McKenzie, D. P., 1971. Plate tectonics, in Tire N u k e ofthe Solid Earth, ed. E. C . Robertson, McGraw-Hill (in press).
  11. Sykes, L. R., 1968. Seismological evidence for transform faults, sea floor spreading and continental drift, The history of the Earth's crust, ed. R. A. Phinney, Prince- ton University Press, Princeton.
  12. Vine, F. J., 1968. Palaeomagnetic evidence for the northward movement of the North Pacific Basin during the past 100 my, Trans. Am. geophys. Un., 49, 156 (abs.).
  13. Vine, F. J. & Moores, E. M., 1969. Palaeomagnetic results for the Toodos Igneous Massif, Cyprus, Trans. Am. geophys. Un., 50, 131 (abs.).
  14. Von Herzen, R. P. & Vacquier, V., 1966. Heat flow and magnetic profiles on the Mid-Indian ocean ridge, Phil. Trans. R. SOC. Lond. A, 259, 262.

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Authors
McKenzie, D., & Sclater, J. G.
Affiliations
  • University of Cambridge (GB)
  • Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US)
ORCID
McKenzie, Dan
Venue
Geophysical Journal International
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
1971-12-01
Volume
24
Issue
5
Pages
437-528
ISSN
  • 0956-540X (ISSN-L)
  • 1365-246X
DOI
10.1111/j.1365-246x.1971.tb02190.x
OpenAlex
W2161680025
Cited by
929
References
90
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 34 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 18
FWCI
46.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
Geophysical Journal International (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation
  • Office of Naval Research
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geology › Geological and Geophysical Studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geophysics › Geological and Geochemical Analysis
Keywords
magnetic anomalies, magnetic lineation, transform faults, plate motion, Ninetyeast Ridge, Central Indian Ridge, Southwest Indian Ridge, triple junctions, plate cooling, heat flow

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