Structure and Tectonics of the Indo-Burman Accretionary Prism

The Indo-Burman Ranges of Bangladesh, northeast India, and Myanmar are the planet’s largest example of active subduction accretion. Along the eastern flank of the Himalayas, the Indo-Burman fold-thrust belt absorbs oblique convergence of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta on the Indian plate with southeast Asia, forming an ~375 km wide accretionary wedge that is home to >200,000,000 people. Our research aims to characterize the structure and tectonic evolution of this active fold-thrust belt. We combine field-based structural geology and mapping investigations with geophysics, detrital geochronology, low-temperature thermochronology, geodesy and geodynamics to determine the kinematic evolution and deformation rates of the Indo-Burman fold belt.

Check out our group’s recent Indo-Burman publications and conference papers (*student author):

Oryan, B., Betka, P. M., Steckler, M. S., Nooner, S. L., Lindsey, E. O., Mondal, D., Mathews, A.,  Akhter, S.H.,  Singha, S.,  Than, O. (2023). New GNSS and geological data from the Indo-Burman subduction zone indicate active convergence on both a locked megathrust and the Kabaw Fault. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 128, e2022JB025550. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JB025550

*Gray, A., Betka, P.M. (2023) Strain partitioning and structural overprinting within the Naga and Indo-Burman fold-thrust belts. Geological Society of America Connects. Oct. 15-18.

Maneerat, P; Bürgmann, R; Betka, P.M. (2022). Thrust sequence in the western fold-and-thrust belt of the Indo-Burman Ranges determined from fluvial profile analysis and dynamic landform modeling. Tectonophysics, v. 845, 229638. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2022.229638

*Mathews, A., Betka, P.M., Grall, C., Seeber, L., Steckler, M.S., Zoramthara, C., Sincavage, R. (2021). Strain partitioning within the Indo-Burman fold-thrust belt SW of the intersection between the Churachandpur-Mao, and Dauki Faults. American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting. Dec. 13-17.

Betka, P.M., Thomson, S., Sincavage, R., Zoramthara, C., Lalremruatfela, C., Lang, K., Steckler, M., Bezbaruah, D., Borgohain, P., Seeber, L. (2021). Provenance Shifts During Neogene Brahmaputra Delta Progradation Tied to Coupled Climate and Tectonic Change in the Eastern Himalaya. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, doi/10.1029/2021GC010026.

Sincavage, R., Betka, P.M., Thomson, S.N., Seeber, L., Steckler, M.S., Zoramthara, C. (2020). Neogene shallow-marine and fluvial sediment dispersal, burial, and exhumation in the ancestral Brahmaputra delta: Indo-Burman Ranges, India. Journal of Sedimentary Research (2020) 90 (9): 1244–1263. https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2020.60.

*Chiama, K., Betka, P.M., Huang, M-H., Zoramthara, C., Lalremruatfela, C., Sincavage, S. (2020) Short- and long-term fault-slip kinematics of the Churachandpur-Mao fault zone, Indo-Burman Ranges. American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting. Dec. 1-17.

Betka, P.M., Seeber, L., Thomson, S.N., Steckler, M.S., Sincavage, R., Zoramthara, C. (2018). Slip-partitioning above a shallow, weak décollement beneath the Indo-Burman accretionary prism. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. V. 503, pp. 17-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.09.003.

Steckler, M. S., Mondal, D. R., Akhter, S. H., Seeber, L., Feng, L., Gale, J., … Howe, M. (2016). Locked and loading megathrust linked to active subduction beneath the Indo-Burman Ranges, Nature Geoscience volume 9, pages615–618(2016). http://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2760

Betka, P.M., L. Seeber, S. Thomson, R. Sincavage, M. Steckler, C. Zoramthara, V.K. Gahalaut. 2018. New geologic maps, cross sections, and structural meolds of the Indo-Burman accretionary prism. American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting. Dec. 10-14, Washington DC. USA.

Sincavage, R., Betka, P.M., Blum, M., Zoramthara, C., (2018) Mixed signals: exploring varying connections between the Miocene-Pliocene paleo-Brahmaputra Delta and the Bengal and Nicobar fans. GSA 67th Southeastern Section Annual Meeting, April 12-13, Knoxville, TN. USA.

Betka, P.M.,S. Thomson, L. Seeber, M. Steckler, C. Zoramthara, R. Sincavage. 2017. Mechanical stratification during extreme sediment accretion in the Indo-Burman Ranges: geological and theoretical constraints on the megathrust geometry.American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting. Dec. 11-15, New Orleans, LA. USA.

Betka, P.M.,S. Thomson, L. Seeber, M. Steckler, C. Zoramthara, R. Sincavage. 2016. The Indo-Burma Ranges: Eocene—Pliocene Coevolution of the paleo-Brahmaputra Fluvial-Deltaic System and Indo-Burma Accretionary Prism. American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting. Dec. 12-16, San Francisco, CA. USA.

Betka, P.M.,L. Seeber, M. Steckler. 2015. A case for plane-strain during the development of the Indo-Burma fold-thrust belt in Tripura and Mizoram, northeast India (23-24°N lat; 91-93°E long.). American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting. Dec. 14-18, San Francisco, CA. USA.

Paul presents our latest work combining kinematic and geodetic modeling to assess seismic hazard in the Indo-Burman subduction zone. Check out the talk recording starting at time 2:08 in the 2022 GSA afternoon session (T29), linked above (GSA login required).