Sudy Provides Data on Active Plate Tectonics in South-East Asia Region


Wilson P., J. Rais, Ch. Reigber, E. Reinhart, B. Ambrosius, X. LePichon, M. Kasser, P. Suharto, Dato' Abdul Majid, Dato' Paduka Awang Haji Othman Bin Haji Yaakub, R. Almeda, C. Boonphakdee, and the GEODYSSEA working group.




A major geodynamic study has provided significant new information about the location of active plate boundaries in and around South-East Asia, as well as deformation processes in the Sulawesi region of Indonesia and tectonic activity in the Philippine archipelago. Results also have confirmed the existance of the so-called Sunda Block, which appears to be rotating with respect to adjacent plates.
The study, known as the Geodynamics of South and South-East Asia (GEODYSSEA) project, has been a joint venture of the European Commisssion and the Association of South-East Asia Nations. It began in 1991 and involved a large team of European and Asian scientists and technicians studying the complex geodynamic processes and natural hazards of the region from the the South-East Asia mainland to the Philippines to northern Australia.Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and tectonically induced landslides endanger the lives of millions of people in the region, and the tectonic activity behind theses natural hazards result from the convergence and collision of the Eurasian, Philippine, and Indo-Australian Plates at relative velocities of up to 10 cm per year.