Geology Of Forearc

Java Sumatra
David Hamonangan

Fore-arc Java-Sumatra extends from

southwest of Sumatra to the northeast of java,
consisting of various Prism accretions and basins
(Fig.1). Geological conditions of Fore-arc Java-Sumatra
we can mirror the geological structure and
stratigraphy of the basins the area thrive on. Fore-arc
Java-Sumatra formed by convergence of the IndoAustralian plate and the Asian Plate during the middle
Eocene to late Oligocene, followed by the latest
charging transgressive marine and open sediments on
the Fore-arc east java and Fluvial-lacustrine
sediments developed in NW Java and Sumatra.
Geological conditions of Fore-arc in western
Indonesia recorded from Aceh basin, with a long (>
200 km) and narrow (< 50 km). Bounded by the West
Andaman Fault, a trench-linked strike-slip fault
obliquely crossing the northward extension of the
Great Sumatran Fault. Research from Atsushi using
the seismic method mention that the deposits in the
basin are thickest along the boundary fault between
the basin and the Outer-arc high, and gradually thin
with increasing distance from the faults. And then
followed by The Simeulue Basin extends over 260 km
in NW-SE direction and 100 km in SW-NE direction,
part of a classic example of subduction, Convergence
system along the Sunda Arc becomes increasingly
oblique from south to north resulting in large-scale,
dextral strike-slip fault systems within the fore-arc
basins and on Sumatra (Malod and Kemal, 1996; Sieh
and Natawidjaja, 2000). The geological conditions of
the next West of Fore-arc Java-Sumatra basin can be
learned from Nias, Mentawai and Southwest Java.
Nias and Mentawai basins accordance in the
deliberations of the Matson and Moore (1992) with
primarily concerned to seismic stratigraphy and not

with geology structure discusses about important

roles to the Batee Fault, a featured primarily defined
by mapping on the Sumatra mainland, and to a
flexure, which can be identified with the Mentawai
fault zone which marks the rear margin of the trenchslope break. Due to the geological structure of the
Mentawai Islands were quite significantly shows that
the marine Oligocene graben fill (Fig.2) at that basin.
Basin Southwest of Java had a complicated post-rift
Neogene tectonic history, resulting in the Eocene
Bayah formation and the Eocene Ciletuh formation,
with features of deltaic deposits indicates basin
development of syn-rift stage of fore-arc.

Figure 1. Tectonic setting of Sumatra Darman and

Sidi (2000) modification

Figure 2. Sedimentary basins of Sumatra

Awang Harun Satyana modification

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The South Java Fore-arc Basin consist of South

Java which lie between the volcano-plutonic arc and
the arc accretion wedge of the trench system.
According to Dickinson and Seely (1979), the Java Forearc basin from the residual as a Fore-arc (lying on
oceanic crust trapped between the arc massif and the
subduction zone) and developed as a constructed
basin (lying on a structural join between the arc
massif and the accretionary wedge). In contrast to
Fore-arc of Sumatra which is identical with right
lateral strike-slip faults, Java Fore-arc doesn't really
have a shear zones that are so significant, folds and
thrusts (Fig.4) occur seaward side of the basin. A
Prominent structural high separates the present Forearc basin from the arc massif characterized by block
faulting.
There may be differences in stratigraphy and
geologic structure between Fore-arc Southeast Java
and Central-Southwest Fore-arc basins, on these
basins characterize that increasingly in the direction
of South or accretionary zone indicates that the
thrust fault zone became more dominant, on the other
way extensional faults (Fig.3) looks more dominant
towards the Fore-arc basin and volcanic arc.
Stratigraphy in the Fore-arc basin characterizes that
volcanic activity quite significant, on the order of
stratigraphy is characterized by deposits of volcanic
that dominates in the Oligocene and continued with
epiclastic back again with volcanic deposits and
followed by Fore-arc slope-Submarine canyons.

Figure 3. Approximately N-S and E-W seismic line

across the East Java Forearc M. Surya Nugraha
and Robert Hall modification

Figure 4. Geoseismic Cross

Section Fore-arc Central Java
Pertamina modification

Geological conditions of Fore-arc Java-Sumatra have

different traits in each part, in accordance with the
evolution of the tectonic and sedimentary sources of
roles are evolving in each area. Similarly with
Geological structure characteristics, lateral strikeslip faults are more dominant in the Fore-arc of
Sumatra-Southwest Java, on the other way dip-slip
faults are more dominant in the Fore-arc Central java
to Fore-arc Southeast Java.
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