ABSTRACT: Regional tectonics of East and South East Asia imaged by gravity and magnetic data

Fairhead, J. Derek, and Nicola G. Henshaw , GETECH, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom

GETECH completed in 1999 two major oil and mineral industry funded magnetic data compilation projects of East and South East Asia. The Magnetic Study of South East Asia (MESA) was in collaboration with CCOP and GSJ and the China Aeromagnetic Mapping Project (CHAMP) in collaboration with AGRS, CAG & PGW. The MESA study contained 25 discrete regional and exploration surveys and 152 diffuse NGDC surveys while the CHAMP study involved the reprocessing and merging of over 400 discrete aeromagnetic surveys. These studies complement the existing gravity data compilation of East and Southeast Asia undertaken by GETECH in 1995 and provide a unique insight to the regional continental and ocean tectonics of the region. For example one of numerous structural trends not depicted on published tectonic maps of South East Asia are a series of arcuate thrust and fold lineaments that emanate from the Sumatra and Java arcs through these islands into the Java Sea towards and into Kalimantan. These data sets besides providing a regional tectonic frame work for hydrocarbon exploration are at sufficient grid resolution (1 km for the magnetic data) that they can be quantitatively used to map the depth to 'magnetic basement' making them a valuable new addition to the oil explorationist 'tool box' in this complex plate tectonic affected region.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90913©2000 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Bali, Indonesia