The Indonesian seaway narrows
Australia's northward drift constricts the passage between the Pacific and Indian oceans.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 1 million years
- Known to
- ± 500 thousand years
- Era
- Pliocene, Cenozoic
As the Australian plate moves north, the deep passages through what is now Indonesia narrow, and the water flowing from the Pacific into the Indian Ocean shifts from warm South Pacific water to cooler North Pacific water. The change is proposed as a contributor to the cooling of the Indian Ocean, the drying of East Africa, and the weakening of the eastern Pacific warm pool — a small tectonic adjustment with disproportionate climatic reach.