Study provides data on active plate tectonics in southeast Asia region

Abstract

A major geodynamic study has provided significant new information about the location of active plate boundaries in and around Southeast Asia, as well as deformation processes in the Sulawesi region of Indonesia and tectonic activity in the Philippine archipelago. Results also have confirmed the existence of the so‐called Sunda Block, which appears to be rotating with respect to adjacent plates.The study, known as the Geodynamics of South and South‐East Asia (GEODYSSEA) project, has been a joint venture of the European Commission and the Association of South‐ East Asian Nations. It began in 1991 and involved a large team of European and Asian scientists and technicians studying the complex geodynamic processes and natural hazards of the region from the Southeast Asia mainland to the Philippines to northern Australia. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and tectonically induced landslides endanger the lives of millions of people in the region, and the tectonic activity behind these natural hazards results from the convergence and collision of the Eurasian, Philippine, and Indo‐Australian Plates at relative velocities of up to 10 cm per year.