Abstract
The age of the Banda Sea is critical for palaeogeographical reconstructions of eastern Indonesia. Assumed ages for its formation range from Mesozoic to Neogene1–10. However, geophysical evidence shows that the Banda Sea is floored by oceanic crust11,12 with a minimum age of Eocene4. Evidence for a sequence of events involving continental breakup and the initiation of spreading that led to the formation of the Banda Sea should be found in the microcontinents around the margins of the sea. Reinterpretation of the geological history of these microcontinents based on new data reported here from western Irian Jaya9,13 shows that they separated from Gondwana during the Jurassic and strongly supports the suggestion of Bowin et al.4 that the Banda Sea is trapped Mesozoic oceanic crust of Indian Ocean affinities.
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Pigram, C., Panggabean, H. Age of the Banda Sea, eastern Indonesia. Nature 301, 231–234 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/301231a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/301231a0
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