Tectonic Evolution of Greater Maldive Ridge
Hyderabad: In a recent study, an Indian researcher traced the tectonic evolution and the nature of the Greater Maldive Ridge (GMR). It is a very crucial geodynamic feature in the western Indian Ocean whose origin has been the centre of many a scientific debate. The study was conducted by the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Mumbai, […]
Hyderabad: In a recent study, an Indian researcher traced the tectonic evolution and the nature of the Greater Maldive Ridge (GMR). It is a very crucial geodynamic feature in the western Indian Ocean whose origin has been the centre of many a scientific debate. The study was conducted by the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Mumbai, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India. The study can help reconstruct the original Gondwanaland break up and dispersal that led to present-day configuration of continents, continental fragments, and formation of ocean basins in the Indian Ocean. Read more about the GMR its tectonic evolution…
The Maldive Ridge is an aseismic ridge that is not associated with earthquake activities. This ridge, located in the western Indian Ocean, southwest of India, is not well investigated. It is of paramount importance to gain knowledge on the structure and geodynamics of aseismic ridges (as it provides valuable inputs towards understanding the evolution of ocean basins).
Tectonic Plate
A tectonic plate (also called lithospheric plate) is a massive, irregularly-shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere.
The lithosphere includes the crust and top mantle with its thickness range varying between 5-100 km in oceanic parts and about 200 km in the continental areas.
The concept of Tectonic Plates was first introduced in 1967. A tectonic plate may be a continental plate or an oceanic plate, depending on which of the two occupies the larger portion of the plate.
The Pacific plate is largely oceanic whereas the Eurasian plate is continental. The tectonic plates are not fixed but constantly move horizontally over the Asthenosphere as rigid units.
Sometimes these plates collide, move apart, or slide next to each other which leads to Earthquakes or Volcanic Eruptions.
What is the Greater Maldive Ridge?
The Maldive Ridge is an aseismic ridge that is not associated with earthquake activities. This ridge, located in the western Indian Ocean, southwest of India, is not well investigated.
It is of paramount importance to gain knowledge on the structure and geodynamics of aseismic ridges (as it provides valuable inputs towards understanding the evolution of ocean basins).
About the study
It has chalked the possible geological cross-sections along the GMR for the first time with the help of satellite-derived high-resolution gravity data.
Satellite-derived gravity anomalies are very helpful in deciphering the crustal architecture where traditional shipborne geophysical data are either not available or scanty.
Significance of the study
The study can help reconstruct the original Gondwanaland break up and dispersal that led to present-day configuration of continents, continental fragments, and formation of ocean basins in the Indian Ocean.
The results from their study can provide additional constraints in understanding the plate-tectonic evolution of the Indian Ocean, better.
Mid-Ocean Ridge
A mid-ocean ridge or mid-oceanic ridge is an underwater mountain range, formed by plate tectonics.
Mohorovičić Discontinuity
The Mohorovicic Discontinuity, or “Moho,” is the boundary between the crust and the mantle. In geology the word “discontinuity” is used for a surface at which seismic waves change velocity.
One of these surfaces exists at an average depth of 8 kilometres beneath the ocean basin and an average depth of about 32 kilometres beneath the continents.
The Mohorovicic Discontinuity was discovered in 1909 by Andrija Mohorovicic, a Croatian seismologist.
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