A plate tectonic model of the eastern Indonesia collision zone

Abstract

Eastern Indonesia is unique in the present global plate configuration, being situated at the T-junction between the world's two main active orogenic belts—the Alpine-Himalayan and Circum-Pacific belts. Consequently the tectonics of this region must be understood as a zone of interaction between three major plates, whereas most other orogenic areas can be modelled as deformation between just two major plates with numerous intervening microplates or terranes. Previous models to explain the tectonics of eastern Indonesia have generally started from small-scale geological observations and attempted to work upwards to an overall plate synthesis. In this paper I reverse the process, suggesting what might be expected from one particular collision model in a three-plate system and comparing this with what is actually seen in the region's geological record.