The Celebes Molasse: A revised Neogene stratigraphy for Sulawesi, Indonesia

Over the past century, a wide variety of poorly dated sediments that unconformably overlie pre-Neogene rocks in Sulawesi have been assigned to Celebes Molasse and interpreted as post-orogenic deposited after major collision. New data from fieldwork laboratory studies, including mineralogical, palaeontological zircon geochronological analyses, provide basis for new Neogene stratigraphy show significant variations age, environment deposition, composition sedimentation history. Identified unconformities (1) Early Miocene (c. 23 Ma), (2) Middle 15 (3) Mio-Pliocene 6–5.3 (4 5) Pleistocene 1.8 0.1 Ma) separate Lower Miocene, Upper Pliocene, Holocene mega-sequences. These mega-sequences resulted collision followed by extension, driven subduction rollback, causing both uplift subsidence, contrast previous interpretations multiple collisions.