Joseph R. Curray
Sediment volume and mass beneath the Bay of Bengal
Earth and Planetary Science Letters (July 1994), 125(1-4):371-383

Abstract:
Rates of sediment accumulation and the amount of sedimentary fill in depocenters lying downstream of erosion in the Himalayas and Tibet can provide some insight into tectonics and geological history. The objective of this paper is to put on record the best estimates which are possible with existing data of the volume and mass of sediments, sedimentary rock and metasedimentary rock beneath the sea floor of the Bay of Bengal. The sedimentary section in the Bay of Bengal is divided into two parts: (1) Eocene through Holocene, sediments and sedimentary rocks which post-date the initial India-Asia collision: volume = 12.5X10 ⁶ km ³ ; mass = 2.88X10 ¹⁶ t; this is most of the Bengal Fan, including its eastern lobe, the Nicobar Fan, plus some of the outer Bengal Delta; (2) Early Cretaceous through Paleocene, pre-collision sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks: volume = 4.36X10 ⁶ km ³ ; mass = 1.13 to 1.18X10 ¹⁶ t; these are interpreted as continental rise and pelagic deposits.