Deformation of the Indo-Australian plate

Intraplate seismicity, deformed oceanic crust and sediments, and local areas of abnormally high heat flow characterize significant internal deformation of the Indo-Australian plate in the northeastern Indian Ocean. The deformation appears analogous to the buckling of an elastic plate with brittle failure at its surface. Itis not clear whether the Indo-Australian plate can be resolvedinto two component parts or whether a new convergent plate boundary is likely to form in the deformed region. The onset of intraplate deformation in the late Miocene seems to be connected to the Himalayan orogenic stage of the collision between India and Asia.