Quaternary deposition and erosion in the northeastern Sunda Strait: An interplay between sea level, tectonics, and magmatic activity

Abstract

The northeastern Sunda Strait is a narrow strait separating Java and Sumatra islands. Currently, it forms a seaway between the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean. The geological setting of the region is extremely dynamic, but how the Plio-Pleistocene interplay between sea level oscillations, magmatism, and tectonics, which lead to the current setting, has not been completely understood. We analysed an important set of legacy shallow seismic data from this area to decipher these intricate relationships. Our results indicate that the tectonic extension partly dismantled the Indonesian arc since the Middle Miocene. However, volcanic products formed a barrier between the Sunda Shelf and the Indian Ocean during the Late Pliocene to the Middle Pleistocene. Marine flooding started during the Middle Pleistocene but bypassed the barrier by flooding the NW edge of Java Island. During the Late Pleistocene, high amplitudes and longer periods of the glacial-interglacial cycles ultimately connected the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean. Still, it was only during the Holocene that important erosion made this seaway efficient in transporting seawater between the two reservoirs.