Leveraging Somali Basin Magnetic Anomalies to Constrain Gondwana Breakup and Early Indian Ocean Formation

Abstract:

The Somali Basin, found between the Horn of Africa and Madagascar was formed during the rifting of East and West Gondwana. Understanding the evolution of the basin has historically been hindered by enigmatic seafloor fabric and an apparent paucity of magnetic anomaly data. Recent iterations of satellite gravity data have revealed nearly complete fracture zones as well as a distinct extinct spreading ridge within the basin. Through a thorough compilation of available Somali Basin shiptrack profiles, we have been able to successfully model and interpret magnetic anomalies with exceptional detail. This complication is unrivaled in completeness and provides unprecedented insight into basin formation. Using this high quality data, we have interpreted magnetic anomalies M0r (120.8 Ma) to M24Bn (152.43 Ma) about the extinct ridge. The interpreted Somali Basin spreading rate and spreading direction, through anomaly M15n (135.76 Ma), are similar to those observed in the neighboring coeval Mozambique Basin. This similarity suggests that East Gondwana separated from West Gondwana as a cohesive unit, and that the internal rifting of East Gondwana began later around 135 Ma. Our magnetic anomaly interpretations have been combined with additional magnetic interpretations from around the Indian Ocean to build a regionally consistent plate model of Gondwana breakup and early Indian Ocean formation. This plate model will be crucial for future efforts unraveling a precise history of East Gondwana fragmentation and constraining the formation of the Enderby Basin offshore East Antarctica and Bay of Bengal offshore East India.