Drift velocity partitioning indicates anomalous high westward drift
component for the Indian plate during ~65 + 2 Ma
Abstract
Rapid northward drift of the Indian plate after 130 Ma has also recorded
significant plate rotations due to the torques resulting from multiple
vector force components. Seismic tomography of the Indian Ocean and
palaeomagnetic database of the Deccan Traps are used here to constrain
drift velocities at different temporal snapshots, resulting into
estimates of 263.2 to 255.7 mmyr-1 latitudinal drift, 234 to 227.3
mmyr-1 longitudinal drift and 352.2 to 342.1 mmyr-1 diagonal drift, for
the period from ~66 to 64 Ma during the Chrons
C30n.y–C29n.y. Alternative displacement models suggest active driving
forces arising from i) slab pull, ii) ridge push from eastern-, western
and southern plate margins, and iii) Reunion plume-push force; in
addition to delamination of the lithospheric root during approximately
65+2 Ma. Delamination of the root amplified the buoyancy of the Indian
plate in contrast to sudden loading from Deccan basaltic pile that
resulted into complex drift dynamics expressed by hyper plate velocities
with an anomalous westward drift component of >342 mmy-1.