Depositional patterns of the Bengal-Nicobar Fan system since the Late Miocene: Seesaw-like stepwise changes and the source-sink model

doi:10.13745/j.esf.sf.2022.1.1

Abstract

Abstract:

Tectonic and climate reconstruction based on punctuated, abrupt changes in depositional patterns represents a new research focus in source-sink analysis. Since the Cenozoic, the convergence of the India and Asian plates, and the subsequent Himalayan exhumation, erosion and sediment transport to the Bengal Bay, formed the world largest source-sink system. Our current study mainly employed 3D seismic and detrital zircon U-Pb age data to address the punctuated, abrupt changes in the depositional patterns of the Bengal-Nicobar Fan system since the Late Miocene, and explore the genetic mechanism of these changes according to the source-sink model. Our findings suggest a seesaw-like stepwise evolution and development of the Bengal-Nicobar Fan system. The Nicobar Fan experienced progradation in the Late Miocene, slow growth in the Pliocene and dormant growth in the Quaternary, which run opposite to the evolution of the Bengal Fan. The U-Pb detrital zircon chronology of the Himalayan-Bengal source-sink system by normalized kernel-density estimates suggest that since the Late Miocene, the 60-0 Ma zircon age populations (indicative of the Brahmaputra sediment routing system) progressively decreased in the Rakhine-Nicobar Fan while increased gradually in the Bengal Fan, revealing an overall stepwise evolutionary pattern of the Brahmaputra sediment routing system. In the Late Miocene, the Brahmaputra River with robust delivery capacity developed along the eastern Bengal Bay delivering large volume of clastic detritus into the Nicobar Fan; whereas the Tista and Ganges Rivers with low delivery capacity developed along the western Bengal Bay transporting small volume of detrital sediments into the Bengal Fan. Such a sediment routing system fostered progradation in the Nicobar Fan and dormant growth in the Bengal Fan. In the Pliocene, the uplift of the Shillong Plateau led to divergence of the Brahmaputra River into eastern and western tributaries. The eastern Brahmaputra tributary with deceased delivery capacity delivered less clastic detritus into the Nicobar Fan, whereas the western Brahmaputra River merged with the Tista and Ganges Rivers to deliver more detrital sediments into the Bengal Fan. Such a sediment routing system fostered slow growth in the Nicobar and Bengal Fans. In the Quaternary, convergence of the Shillong Plateau and Indo-Burman Ranges disrupted sediment transport to the Nicobar Fan via the eastern Brahmaputra tributary; whereas the merge of Brahmaputra River with Tista and Ganges Rivers ensured all sediment budget going into the Bengal Fan. Such a sediment routing system fostered progradation in the Bengal Fan and relatively slow growth in the Nicobar Fan. The most prominent changes in the depositional patterns of the Bengal-Nicobar Fans happened in the Late Pliocene reflecting the source-sink depositional response to the most intense collision between the Indian and Asian plates.

Key words: source-sink systems, Bengal-Nicobar Fans, stepwise changes in depositional patterns, uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, Brahmaputra River

CLC Number:

GONG Chenglin, LIU Li, SHAO Dali, GUO Rongtao, ZHU Yijie, QI Kun. Depositional patterns of the Bengal-Nicobar Fan system since the Late Miocene: Seesaw-like stepwise changes and the source-sink model[J]. Earth Science Frontiers, 2022, 29(4): 25-41.

Figures/Tables 11

Fig.1 Regional map showing the elements of the Tibetan Plateau-Bengal source-to-sink system (a), and pie diagrams of normalized U-Pb detrital zircon kernel-density estimates (KDE) (data from [22]) for the modern Ganges (b) and Brahmaputra Rivers (c)

Fig.2 Regional seismic transect (line locations see Fig.1) and interpretations illustrating the depositional evolution of the Nicobar Fan since the Late Miocene (Late Miocene progradation→Pliocene slow growth→Quaternary dormant growth)

Fig.3 (a, b) Regional seismic transects (line locations see Fig.1) and interpretations illustrating the depositional evolution of the Nicobar Fan since the Late Miocene, and pie diagrams of detrital zircon U-Pb ages (from [27]) for major tectonostratigraphic domains of IODP362 sites (c-e) on the Nicobar Fan

Fig.4 (a) Regional seismic transect (line locations see Fig.1) showing the development of the Rakhine shelf margin and kinematics of the Rakhine shelf edges (seismic profile compiled from [34]), and (b) seismic profile (line location see Fig.1) along the depositional dip showing cross-sectional seismic manifestations of valleys on the Rakhine shelf

Fig.5 Representative RMS attribute maps (locations see Fig.1) with interpretations illustrating the architectures of the early (a) and late (b) Late Miocene Rakhine-Nicobar Fan

Fig.6 Representative RMS attribute maps (locations see Fig.1) with interpretations illustrating the architectures of the early (a) and late (b) Pliocene Rakhine-Nicobar Fan

Fig.7 Representative RMS attribute maps (locations see Fig.1) with interpretations illustrating the architectures of the early (a) and late (b) Quaternary Rakhine-Nicobar Fan

Fig.8 Stratigraphic correlations between the Bengal and Nicobar Fans (well loges complied from IODP 354 and 362)

Fig.9 (a, b) Representative seismic lines and interpretations showing the architecture and development of the Bengal Fan since the Late Miocene (uninterpreted seismic line downloaded from IODP site 354), and (c-e) pie diagrams of detrital zircon U-Pb ages (from [22]) for major tectonostratigraphic domains of IODP354 sites on the Bengal Fan

Fig.10 Normalized KDE plots of detrital zircon U-Pb ages (from [22,27]) for major tectonostratigraphic domains of different periods (modern, Late Miocene, Pliocene, Quaternary)

Fig.11 Schematic illustrations of the stepwise changes in depositional patterns of the Bengal-Nicobar Fans since the Late Miocene (panels a-c) and their associated source-sink models (panels d-f), with regional maps (from [25,35]) showing the submarine fan distributions. Data adapted from [22,27,34-35,44] for reconstruction of the evolution and development of the Brahmaput River sediment routing system since the Late Miocene.

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