Geoid height versus topography of the Northern Ninetyeast Ridge: implications on crustal compensation |
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| Authors: | S Rajesh T J Majumdar |
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| Institution: | (1) Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, 248 001, India;(2) Institute of Seismological Research, Gandhinagar, 382 009, India; |
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| Abstract: | In this paper we focused on understanding the isostatic compensation of the Ninetyeast Ridge in the overall context of the
Bay of Bengal oceanic lithosphere and the interaction of the ridge system with the north Andaman subduction zone from north
of 7–18°N. This region is characterized by the initial interaction of the Kerguelen hotspot with the Bay of Bengal oceanic
lithosphere. We used satellite altimeter-derived marine geoid, as it should comprehensively reflect the compensations caused
by large spatial wavelength dominated deeper anomaly sources in a hotspot affected lithospheric load like the Ninetyeast Ridge.
Our analyses of the geoid-to-topography ratio (GTR), residual geoid, gravity-to-topographic kernel and upward continuation
of anomalies show the existence of two different types of source compensation bodies beneath the northern (12–18°N) and southern
(7–12°N) Ninetyeast Ridge. In the northern region, the geoid to topography ratio varies from 0.63 ± 0.05 to 0.44 ± 0.03, while
in the southern region it ranges from 1.34 ± 0.09 to 1.31 ± 0.07 which resulted in a north to south increase in the apparent
compensation depth from ~9 to 28 km. The presence of a shallow Moho, low GTR, broader gravity to topography kernel and the
absence of a ridge anomaly from the mantle density dominated upward continued anomaly at z = 300 km indicates that at the northern segment the underplated low density crustal melt is the dominant isostatic compensating
body. However, at the southern ridge segment the high GTR, strong gravity-to-topography kernel and the subsistence of the
anomaly at long wavelengths, even at z = 300 km represents the existence of large volumes of hotspot related underplated dense material as the source of compensation.
The proximity of the dense source compensating body of the southern Ninetyeast Ridge to the Andaman subduction zone affected
the regional mantle driven density gradient flow, as observed from the z = 300 km continued gravity anomaly. The existence of a southern Ninetyeast Ridge in such a transpressional regime has caused
the formation of a forearc sliver at its eastern flank, which is a major crustal deformational structure developed as a result
of ridge-trench collision. |
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