Oligocene reefal deposits in the Pisang Ridge and the origin of the Lucipara Block (Banda Sea, eastern Indonesia)

Abstract

In 1998 we dredged early Oligocene/late Oligocene boundary, shallow-water reefal deposits and pelagic, early Pliocene muds in the submerged Pisang Ridge. The shallow-water deposits were identified as moderate- to low-energy coral-reef depositional environments, which confirms that the Pisang Ridge belonged to the continental to continental-arc Lucipara Block which also includes the Tukang Besi, Lucipara and Rama ridges. On the basis of these findings, it was possible to reconstruct parts of the general geological evolution of the Lucipara Block, which drifted away from northern Irian Jaya during mid-Miocene times and collided with the Kolonodale Block during the late Miocene. A late-early Oligocene calc-alkaline volcanic arc developed in the Weber Trough area, then uplifted to a shallow-water position at the early–late Oligocene boundary in the Pisang Ridge. Late Oligocene–early Miocene metamorphism subsequently developed, prior to the deposition of early Miocene coral reefs in the Rama Ridge. Locally, late Miocene metamorphism was identified in the Lucipara Ridge, prior to the latest Miocene–Pliocene general drowning and the splitting of the Lucipara Block into several small blocks throughout the Banda Sea region.