Seismic volcanostratigraphy of the western Indian rifted margin: The pre-Deccan igneous province

Abstract

The Indian Plate has been the focus of intensive research concerning the flood basalts of the Deccan Traps. Here we document a volcanostratigraphic analysis of the offshore segment of the western Indian volcanic large igneous province, between the shoreline and the first magnetic anomaly (An 28 ∼63 Ma). We have mapped the different crustal domains of the NW Indian Ocean from stretched continental crust through to oceanic crust, using seismic reflection and potential field data. Two volcanic structures, the Somnath Ridge and the Saurashtra High, are identified, extending ∼305 km NE-SW in length and 155 km NW-SE in width. These show the internal structures of buried shield volcanoes and hyaloclastic mounds, surrounded by mass-wasting deposits and volcanic sediments. The structures observed resemble seismic images from the North Atlantic and northwest Australia, as well as volcanic geometries described for Runion and Hawaii. The geometry and internal seismic facies within the volcanic basement suggest a tholeiitic composition and subaerial to shallow marine emplacement. At the scale of the western Indian Plate, the emplacement of this volcanic platform is constrained by structural lineations associated with rifting. By reviewing the volcanism in the Indian Ocean and plate reconstruction of the area, the timing of the volcanism can be associated with eruption of a pre-Deccan continental flood basalt (∼75-65.5 Ma). The volcanic platform in this study represents an addition of 19-26.5% to the known volume of the West Indian Volcanic Province. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.