Past and present geotectonic position of Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Sulawesi with its peculiar K-shaped pattern is situated in an area where the Eurasian, Indian—Australian and Pacific plates interact and collide. Complex geological processess in this area resulted in the transformation of a normal island-arc structure into an inverted one, deformation of an already tectonized belt, sweeping of fragments against unrelated terrain, thrusting of oceanic and mantle material over the island arc, closing of deep-sea basins behind the arc, trapping of old oceanic crust caused by the rolling up of an island arc, formation of a marginal basin by the spreading of the sea floor behind the arc, development of small subduction zones with reverse polarities etc. Small deep-sea basins surrounding Sulawesi such as the Gulf of Bone and the Gulf of Gorontalo originally formed the arc—trench gap of the Sulawesi island arc. The Banda Sea is considered as an oceanic crust trapped by the bending of the east—west trending Banda arc due to the northward drift of Australia combined with the westward movement of the Pacific plate. Similarly the Sulawesi Sea consists of an old Pacific crust trapped by the westward bending of the Sulawesi island arc, caused by the spearheading westward thrust along the Sorong transform-fault system, in which later a minor spreading center became active in its central part. The Molucca Sea comprises tectonic mélange in which presumably a small spreading center developed between the two colliding arcs of northern Sulawesi and western Halmahera. While the Benioff zones dip under the northern Sulawesi and Halmahera arcs in normal fashion, the mélange thrusts over them. The Strait of Makassar is a marginal basin which was brought into existence by the spreading of the sea floor between Kalimantan and Sulawesi. The evolution of Sulawesi started in Miocene time or even earlier when 800 km east of Kalimantan a north—south trending east-facing island arc came into existence, originating from a spreading center located in the Pacific Ocean. Volcanism and plutonism accompanied this subduction process. Collision between Sulawesi and the Australian—New Guinea plate which occurred in early Pliocene time severely transformed Sulawesi into an island with its convex side turned towards the continent, at the same time causing obduction of ophiolite in the eastern arc of this island. The movement of the Pacific plate continued and gradually pushed Sulawesi towards the Asian continent, resulting in the closing of the sea between Kalimantan and Sulawesi islands separated by small straits and deep seas resembling the complicated pattern of the Philippine Archipelago, in which the original double island-arc structure can no longer be recognized.