Thailand Geology and Tectonics

Thailand presently lies in the interior of the tectonically quiet Sundaland core. It
forms the stable core beneath the Thai-Malay Peninsula, southern Indochina, parts
of Sumatra, Java and Borneo. It is surrounded on all sides by volcanic and seismic
activity, including the subduction at the Sumatra-Java-Timor trench, and collision
between Australia and eastern Indonesia.
Completed projects:
 Kinematic History of the Khlong Marui and Ranong Faults, Southern Thailand
 Sedimentary provenance in southern Thailand
 Tertiary Basins of Northern Thailand
 Structural Evolution of the Phrae Basin, Northern Thailand
 Evolution of the Chumphon Basin, Gulf of Thailand

It is clear from the geometry of the sedimentary basins in Northern Thailand that their
evolution is closely linked to NE-SW trending sinistral strike-slip faults and NW-SE
trending dextral strike slip faults. This forms a wedge between the Mai Ping fault
system in the south and the Northern Thailand Fault System in the north, consistent
with north-south compression and east-west extension. In contrast the area to the
south of the Mai Ping Fault, including the Gulf of Thailand seems to be much more
dominated by extensional processes. Here through-going strike slip faults are rare and
offsets between graben and changes in their polarity can be explained by normal linkage
of extensional fault systems.
Phumee Srisuwon’s detailed analysis of the Phrae basin shows that its evolution is
closely linked to sinistral movements on the NE-SW trending Phrae-Thoen fault.
Anongporn Intawong will investigate the interaction between the extensional tectonics of
the Gulf of Thailand and strike-slip deformation associated with the Klong Mariu Fault
which marks its western boundary.
Interestingly MSc project work supported by Thai Shell suggests that small basins in the
Andaman Sea may have formed at the opposite end of the Klong Mariu Fault associated
with splays that would be indicative of sinistral strike-slip displacement on this fault.
While the Tertiary basins provide a record of the evolution of the area from the Late
Oligocene/early Miocene, we know relatively little about the earlier Tertiary history of
the area. In particular regional uplift is likely to have been an important precursor to
basin formation. To investigate this Gary Nichols has embarked on a pilot programme of
sample collection from granites in Northern Thailand for apatite fission track dating.
…

Structure of the Phrae Basin

Structural Evolution of the Phrae Basin, Northern Thailand
Phumee Srisuwon, completed PhD project
The Phrae Basin is a Tertiary fault-bend basin covering approximately 1,100 square kilometres that formed
during the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene. Sinistral strike-slip movement of the Phrae-Thoen Fault was a major
control on the creation of accommodation space in the Phrae Basin. Three sub-basins have been revealed from
2D seismic and Landsat data. The Phrae and Rong Kwang sub-basins cover most of the Phrae Basin. They are
separated by a basement high which may be part of a transfer zone or may be created by right overstep of the
controlling left lateral Phrae-Thoen Fault. The Song sub-basin is separated from the Rong Kwang sub-basin by
the Long Fault.
2D seismic data shows that the Phrae Basin contains three main genetic sequences. There are rift fill, rift fill
associated with inversion and post-rift sequences. The rift fill sequence can be separated into early rift fill
which occurs locally in the central area and the main rift fill that was deposited throughout the basin. The rift
fill associated with inversion is seen into two stages. The first stage is represented by folding in the Rong
Kwang sub-basin and in the Phrae sub-basin is expressed by folds and reversal of the eastern fault margin. The
second stage is represented by a broad anticline in the rift fill sequence, continued reversal of the eastern border
fault and reverse movement on the fault in the centre of the basin. The post-rift sequence covers almost all the
basin, except in the central and eastern parts where this unit was uplifted.
Borehole data shows that alluvial fans and braided channels are dominant during early stage of deposition of
the Phrae Basin Formation, while in the middle units lacustrine, peat swamp and poorly drained floodplain
deposits alternate with braided channels and alluvial plains. Coal facies are commonly associated with lake
margin and peat swamp environments in the middle units, although the western area contains thicker lacustrine
and peat swamp sequences while alluvial plains and braided channels are dominant in the eastern part of the
basin. In the Rong Kwang sub-basin no core is available but 2D seismic characteristics show that this part of
basin was probably dominated by high energy fluvial deposits.
The regional controls on the evolution of the Phrae Basin are extension associated with subduction of the Indian
Oceanic Plate beneath the Sunda Shelf and strike-slip displacement on major regional strike-slip faults.
Inversion is associated with the interaction of the Philippine and Australian Plates.