PALEOMAGNETISM OF SEDIMENT CORES FROM INDIAN OCEAN

A paleomagnetic study of forty cores from the Indian Ocean has been completed. The cores have been correlated using the paleomagnetic stratigraphy obtained through a study of the inclination change in the cores. Rates of sedimentation range from 3 to 7 mm/1000 years in the deep ocean basins. However, rates in excess of 20 mm/1000 years were recorded. Recognizable hiatuses occur in about 32% of the cores studied. The average rate of sedimentation of 21 cores from the Indian Ocean ridge province is 11 mm/1000 years. The sediment cover over the ridge is thin or non-existent and thus could have accumulated in a relatively short time. This observation is in agreement with recent ideas of mobility of the oceanic crust. © 1969.